<£• 
















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H ISTO RY 



OF THE — 



ST/TE OF CJlLIFOp 




FROM THE PERIOD OF THE CONQUEST BY SPAIN, 

TO HER OCCUPATION BY THE UNITED 

STATES OF AMERICA. 

CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE IMMENSE 

GOLD MINES AND PLACERS, A DESCRIPTION OF HER 

MINERAL AND AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES, WITH 

THRILLING ACCOUNTS OF ADVENTURES 

AMONG THE MINERS. 

— ALSO, — 

A ERIEF ACCOUNT OF THE FORMATION OF THE GOVERNMENT 
AND CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE. 



WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS, 



By JOHN FROST, LL.D. 



NEW YORK:, 

HURST & CO., P U B L I S H E R S 

122 NASSAU STREET. 



\ 



TO THE READER OF THIS 
VOLUME 

Kindly handle this book with the utmost 
care on account of its fragile condition. 
The binding has been done as well as pos- 
sible under existing conditions and will 
give reasonable wear with proper opening 
and handling. 

Your thought fulness ivill be appreciated 



u 



PREFACE. 

Tiie occupation of California by the people 
of the United States, and the discovery of its 
rich gold mines, form a new era in the history 
of the world. According to present appear- 
ances, these events forebode a complete revolu- 
tion in monetary and commercial affairs. The 
receipts of gold from California have already 
produced a sensible effect on the financial af- 
fairs of our country ; and far-seeing people pre- 
dict an entirely new state of things with respect 
to the relative value of money and property. 

Still more important effects are anticipated 
rom the establishment of a new, rich, and en- 
terprising State of the American Union on the 
shores of the Pacific. Railroads across the con- 
tinent will soon transport the rich products of 
Eastern Asia, by a quick transit, to the Atlan- 
tic cities and to Europe; and a passage to 
China or India, which was formerly a serious 
undertaking, will become a pleasant excursion. 



\ PREFACE. 

To gratify the public curiosity with respect 
to the history and present state of this new 
member of the Union, is the purpose of this 
volume. In preparing it, the author has 
passed rapidly over the early history, and 
dwelt chiefly on recent events, and the actual 
state of the country, as he considered that, by 
this course, utility would be more effectually 
consulted. 

In the Appendix he has introduced the con- 
stitution of California, and some official docu- 
ments, whose importance demanded their pre- 
servation in a permanent f^iia. 



CONTENTS 



Page 
CHAPTER I. 
Seografhical Outline c? California .......... 7 

CHAPTER H. 
Discovery 05? California • 11 

CHAPTER III. 
From the first Settlement to the Revolution in Mexico • 20 

CHAPTER IV. 

Prom the Reyclution til£, the War between the Unites States and Mexico • 24 

CHAPTER V. 
From the -commencement or the War till its Close ».» • • • • 27 

CHAPTER VI. 
Discovert of the Gold Placers * • • • • » » » 38 

CHAPTER VIL 

Adventures of some of tee Miners, and Incidents connected with Mining • • 56 

CHAPTER VIII 
Description of some of the Cities and towns of California., before and after 
the discovery of the Gold Mines • * • • • 87 

CHAPTER IX. 
The Formation of a State Government -...- • 118 

CHAPTER X. 
Fresent state of California • 132 

CHAPTER XL 
The different Routes to California, and thejr respective characters 181 

CHAPTER XII. 

Recent Events connected with, and happening in, California 213 

CHAPTER XIII. 
The Mineralogical and other characteristic* of Gold, and the *iode of dis- 
tinguishing it when found; together with the assay, reduction, and re- 
finement of Gold » 233 



(5) 



6 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Additional Lucent Etents • .-..., ... 243 

CHAPTER XV. 
A General View of California at the present time 255 

CHAPTER XVI. j 

Natural History or California 275 l 

Appendix ••" •••• •• • o... ........... 387 



TUB. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA 



CHAPTER I. 

GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINE OF CALIFORNIA. 

The territory called California is that part of North 
America situated on the Pacific Ocean, and extending 
from the 42° of north latitude southwardly to 22° 48', 
and from 107° longitude, west from Greenwich, to 
124°. It is bounded on the north by Oregon terri- 
tory, east by territories belonging to the United 
States and the Gulf of California, and on the south 
and west by Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Califor- 
nia is naturally divided into two portions ; the penin- 
sula, called Lower California, and the territory ex- 
tending northward from the peninsula, on the Pacific 
Ocean, called Upper California. The line of division 
between Upper and Lower California runs nearly 
along the 32d parallel of latitude, westward from the 
head of the Gulf of California. 

The peninsula of California is about one hundred 
and thirty miles in breadth, where it joins the conti- 
nent. It extends south-east war dly, generally dimi- 
nishing in breadth, till it terminates in two points. 
The point farthest south-west is called Cape San 

m 



8 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

Lucas. The other, sixty miles east by north of San 
Lucas, is called Cape Palmo. The peninsula is about 
seven hundred miles long. 

Upper California extends, upon the Pacific, from 
the 32d parallel of latitude, northward to the 42d 
parallel, a distance of about seven hundred miles. It 
is separated from Oregon by a range of highlands, 
called the Snowy Mountains, or, by the Spaniards, 
the Sierra Nevada. The eastern limit of Upper Cali- 
fornia is rather uncertain. By some it is considered 
as including the region watered by the Colorado River, 
while others limit it by the great mountain range that 
extends along the western side of the continent. 

The Californian peninsula seems to be a prolonga- 
tion of the great western chain of mountains. It 
consists entirely of high, stony ridges, separated by 
sandy valleys, and contains very few tracts of level 
ground. In a general view, it might be termed an 
irreclaimable desert. The scarcity of rain and the 
small number of springs of water, with the intense 
neat of the sun's rays, uninterrupted in their passage, 
render the surface of the country almost destitute of 
vegetation. Yet in the small oases formed by the 
passage of a rivulet through a sandy defile, where 
irrigation is possible, the ground may be made to pro- 
duce all the fruits of tropical climes, of the finest 
quality, and in great quantity. The southern portion 
of the peninsula contains several gold mines, which 
have been worked, though not to any great extent. 
On the Pacific side, the coast offers many excellent 
harbors, but the lack of fresh water near them proves 
an obstacle in the way of their occupation. The 
principal harbors are the Bay of la Magdalena, 
separated from the ocean by the long island of Santa 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 9 

Margarita, the Bay of Sebastian Vizcaino, east of the 
Isle of Cedaro, Port San Bartolome*, sometimes called 
Turtle Bay, and Port San Quintin, a good harbor, 
with fresh water in the vicinity, and called by the 
Spanish navigators the Port of the Eleven Thousand 
Virgins. 

The great westernmost range of mountains runs 
northward from the peninsula, nearly parallel with 
the Pacific coast, to the 34th parallel of latitude, be- 
low which is Mount San Bernardin, one of the highest 
peaks in California, about forty miles from the ocean. 
Farther northward, the space between the mountains 
and the coast becomes wider, and, in a few places, 
reaches eighty miles. The intermediate region is tra- 
versed by lines of hills, or smaller mountains joined 
with the great range. The most considerable of the 
inferior ridges extends from Mount San Bernardin 
to the south side of the entrance of the Bay of San 
Francisco, where it is called the San Bruno Moun- 
tains. Between this range and the coast runs the 
Santa Barbara range, terminating at the Cape of 
Pines, on the south-west side of the Bay of Monterey. 
Bordering on the Bay of San Francisco, on the east 
side, is the Bolbona ridge. Beyond these are lines of 
highlands which stretch from the great chain and ter- 
minate in capes on the Pacific. 

There are many streams among the valleys of 
Upper California, some of which, in the rainy season, 
swell to a considerable size. But no river, except the 
Sacramento, falling into the Bay of San Francisco, is 
known to flow through the maritime range of moun- 
tains, from the interior to the Pacific. The valleys 
thus watered offer abundant pasturage for cattle. 

The principal harbors of Upper California are those 
A* 



10 FISTOEY OF CALIFORNIA. 

offered by the Bays of San Francisco, Monterey, 
San Pedro, Santa Barbara, and San Diego. The 
Bay of San Francisco is one of the finest harbors in 
the world. The combined fleets of all the naval 
powers of Europe might there find safe shelter. It 
is surrounded by ranges of high hills, and joins the 
Pacific by a passage two miles wide and three in 
length. The other harbors can only be frequented in 
the fine season, and afford a very insecure shelter for 
vessels. San Diego is the farthest south. The bay 
at that place runs ten miles eastward into the land, 
and is separated from the ocean by a ridge of sand. 
Proceeding northward, about seventy miles, the Bay 
of San Pedro is next met. It is open to the south- 
west winds, but sheltered from the north-west. About 
a hundred miles north-west of San Pedro, is the har- 
bor of Santa Barbara. It is an open roadstead shel- 
tered from the north and west winds, but exposed to 
the violence of the south-westerly storms, which pro- 
vail during the greater part of the year. A hundred 
miles farther north is the Bay of Monterey. It is 
extensive, and lies in an indentation of the coast, 
somewhat semicircular. The southernmost portion is 
separated from the ocean by the point of land ending 
at the Cape of Pines. In the cove thus formed, 
stands the town of Monterey, for some time the capi- 
tal of California. The harbor affords but a poor shel- 
ter from storms. 

The Sacramento and San Joachim are the princi- 
pal rivers of California, but the Sacramento alone is 
navigable to any extent worthy of mention. There 
are numerous small streams and lakes in the interior, 
the principal outlet of which is the Colorado River. 
The valleys through which these streams flow are' 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 11 

fertile, and afford good pasture for cattle; but the 
remainder of the region between the maritime and 
the Colorado ranges of mountains is a barren waste 
of sand. 



CHAPTER II. 

DISCOVERY OF CALIFORNIA. 

The first exploration of the Pacific coasts of North 
America was made by the Spaniards, in the sixteenth 
century. After Hernando Cortes had completed the 
conquest of Mexico, he commenced exploring the ad- 
joining seas and countries ; no doubt, with the hope 
of discovering lands richer than those which he had 
conquered, and which would afford new fields for the 
exercise of his daring enterprise and undaunted per- 
severance. He employed vessels in surveying the 
coasts of the Mexican Gulf, and of the Atlantic more 
northerly. Vessels were built upon the Pacific coast 
for like purposes, two of which as early as 1526, 
were sent to the East Indies. 

The first expedition of the Spaniards, sent along 
the western coast of Mexico, was conducted by Pedro 
Nunez de Maldonado, an officer under Cortes. He 
sailed from the mouth of the Zacatula River, in July, 
1528, and was six months engaged in surveying the 
shores from his starting-place to the mouth of the 
Santiago River, a hundred leagues farther north-west. 
The territory he visited was then called Xalisco, and 
inhabited by fierce tribes of men who had nevar been 



12 HISTORY OF CALITORNIA. 

conquered by the Mexicans. Flattering accounts of 
the fertility of the country and of the abundance of 
the precious metals in it were brought back by the ex- 
pedition, and these served to excite the attention of 
the Spaniards. When the expedition returned Cortes 
was in Spain, whither he had gone to have his title 
and powers more clearly defined. He returned in 
1530 with full power to make discoveries and con- 
quests upon the western coast of Mexico. From the 
opposition of his enemies, he was presented from fit- 
ting out an expedition before 1532. The most north- 
ern post upon the Pacific coast, occupied by the 
Spaniards, was Aguatlan, beyond which the coast was 
little known. 

The expedition sent by Cortes to the north-western 
coast of Mexico was commanded by his kinsman, Diego 
Hurtado cle Mendoza. It sailed from Tehuantepec 
in July, 1532, and consisted of two vessels.; one com- 
manded by Diego Hurtado de Mendoza in person, and 
the other by Juan de Mazuela. Mendoza proceeded 
slowly along the shore of the continent as far as the 
27° of latitude, where, his crew being mutinous, he 
sent back one of his vessels with the greater part of 
his men, and continued the voyage with the remaining 
vessel. Vague reports were afterwards received that 
Mendoza's vessel was thrown ashore somewhere to the 
northward, and that all on board had perished. The 
vessel which was sent back, was stranded near the 
mouth of the River Vanderas, and after the murder 
of the greater part of the crew, she was plundered 
by Nuno de Guzman, Governor of Xalisco. About 
the middle of the next year, Cortes received the news 
of the return of the vessel which Mendoza had sent 
back, and he immediately despatched two ships m?de# 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 13 

the command of Hernando Grijalva and Diego Be- 
cerra, in search of the other. These ships sailed on 
the 30th of September, 1533, but were soon sepa- 
rated. Grijalva discovered the islands of St. Thomas, 
as he called them — a group of islands about fifty 
leagues from the coast. He remained there till the 
following spring, and then returned home. Becerra 
proceeded north-westward ; but his crew mutinied, 
and he was murdered by Fortuno Ximenes. The 
mutineers, under Ximenes, then steered directly west 
from tho main land, and soon reached a coast not 
known to them before. They landed, and soon after 
Ximenes and nineteen men were killed by the na- 
tives. The rest of the men carried the vessel over 
to Xalisco, where she was seized by Nuno de Guz- 
man. 

Soon after these unlucky expeditions, Nuno de 
Guzman sent out several exploring parties in a north- 
erly direction, one of which traced the western shore 
as far as the mouth of the Colorado, and brought back 
accounts of a rich and populous country and splendid 
cities in the interior. When Cortes became acquainted 
with the seizure of his vessels, a dispute arose be- 
tween him and Nuno de Guzman, which almost led to 
a battle between their forces. But no action oc- 
curred, and Cortes, having heard of the newly disco- 
vered country, which was said to abound in the finest 
pearls, embarked at Chiametla, with a portion of his 
men, and set sail for the new land of promise. On 
the 3d of May, 1535, the day of the Invention of the 
Holy Cross, according to the Roman Catholic Calen- 
dar, ^Cortes arrived in the bay where Ximenes and 
his fellow-mutineers had met their fate in the previous 
year. In honor of the day, the place was called 



14 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

Santa Cruz, and possession of it was taken in the 
name of the Spanish sovereign. 

The country claimed by Cortes for Spain, was the 
south-east portion of the peninsula, which was after- 
wards called California. The bay, called by Cortes, 
Santa Cruz, was, perhaps, the same now known as 
Port La Paz, about a hundred miles from the Pacific, 
near the 24th parallel of latitude. Cortes landed on 
the shore of this bay, rocky and forbidding as it ap- 
peared, with a hundred and thirty men, and forty 
horses. He then sent back two of his ships to Chia- 
metla, to bring over the rest of his troops. The ves- 
sels soon returned with a portion of the troops, and 
being again despatched to the Mexican coast, only 
one of them returned. The other was wrecked on her 
way. Cortes then took seventy men and embarked 
for Xalisco, from which he returned just in time to 
save his troops from death by famine. A year was 
spent in these operations, and the troops began to 
grow discontented. A few pearls had been found on 
the coast, but the country was found to be barren, 
and without attractions for Spaniards. 

In the mean time, the wife of Cortes hearing reports 
of his ill success, sent a vessel to Santa Cruz, and en- 
treated him to return. He then learned that he had 
been superseded in the government of New Spain by 
Don Antonio de Mendoza, who had already entered the 
capital as viceroy. Cortes returned to Mexico, and 
soon after, recalled the vessels and troops from Santa 
Cruz. 

The viceroy, Mendoza, had received some informa- 
tion concerning the country north-west of Mexico, 
from de Cabeza-Vaca and two other Spaniards, who 
had wandered nine years, through forests and deserts* 



IIISTOUY OF CALIFORNIA. 15 

from Tampa Bay, Florida, until they reached Culia- 
can. They had received from the natives, accounts 
of rich and populous countries situated to the north- 
west. Mendoza, wishing to ascertain the truth of the 
reports, sent two friars, according to the advice of 
Las Casas, to make an exploration. They were ac- 
companied by a Moor who had crossed the continent 
with Cabeza-Vaca and his friends, and they set out 
from Culiacan on the 7th of March, 1539. 

Soon after the departure of the friars, Cortes sent 
out his last expedition. It was commanded by Fran- 
cisco de Ulloa, and consisted of three vessels, well 
equipped. Sailing from Acapulco, on the 8th of July 
1539. Ulloa reached the Bay of Santa Cruz, after 
losing one of his vessels in a storm. From Santa 
Cruz he started to survey the coast towards the north- 
west. He completely examined both shores of the 
Gulf of California, and discovered the fact of the 
connection of the peninsula with the main land, near 
the 32° of latitude. This gulf Ulloa named the Sea 
of Cortes. On the 18th of October, he returned to 
Santa Cruz, and on the 29th again sailed with the 
object of exploring the coasts farther west. He 
rounded the point now called Cape San Lucas, the 
southern extremity of California, and sailed along the 
coast towards the north. The Spaniards proceeded 
slowly, as they were opposed by north-western storms, 
and often landed and fought with the natives. In 
January, 1540, Ulloa reached the island under the 
28th parallel of latitude, near the coast, which they 
named the Isle of Cedars. There he remained till 
April, when one of the ships, bearing the sick and 
accounts of the discoveries, was sent back to Mexico. 
The returning vessel was seized at Santiago by the 



16 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

officers of the viceroy. The fate of the remaining 
vessel is uncertain. Some of the writers of that day 
asserting that he continued his voyage as far north ae 
the 30° of latitude, and returned safely to Mexico; 
while one asserts that nothing more was heard of him 
after the return of the vessel he sent back. 

In the mean time, the two friars and the Moor 
penetrated a considerable distance into the interior of 
the continent, and sent home glowing accounts of rich 
and delightful countries which they said they had dis- 
covered. The inhabitants had, at first, been hostile, 
and had killed the Moor ; but in the end submitted to 
the authority of the King of Spain. Mendoza, be- 
lieving the accounts of the friars to be strictly true, 
prepared an expedition for the conquest of the coun- 
tries they described. Disputes with the diiferent 
Spanish chieftains occupied some months, at the end 
of which Cortes returned to Spain, in disgust. Men- 
doza despatched two bodies of troops, one by land, 
the other by sea, to reconnoitre the newly discovered 
land, and clear the way for conquest. The marine 
expedition was undertaken by two ships, under the 
command of Fernando de Alarcon, who sailed from 
Santiago on the 9th of May, 1540, and proceeding 
north-west along the coast, he reached the head of the 
California Gulf, in August of the same year. There 
he discovered the river now called the Colorado. 
The stream was ascended to the distance of eighty 
leagues, by Alarcon and some of his men, in boats ; 
but all their inquiries were unsatisfactorily answered, 
and it was determined to return to Mexico. The ves- 
sels returned safely before the end of the year. 

The land forces sent, at the same time, to the north- 
west, were composed of infantry and cavalry, and 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 17 

commanded by Francisco Vasqucz de Coronado, who 
had been appointed governor of New Gallicia, in place 
of Nuno de Guzman. The party left Culiacan on the 
22d of April, 1540, and took their way north, follow- 
ing the course described by the friars. They found 
the route which had been represented as easy, almost 
impassable. They made their way over mountains, 
and deserts, and rivers, and, in July, they reached the 
country called Cibola by the natives, but found it a 
half cultivated region, thinly inhabited by a people 
destitute of the wealth and civilization they had been 
represented as possessing. What had been represented 
as seven great cities, were seven small towns, rudely 
built. A few Aurquoises and some gold and silver 
supposed to be good, constituted the amount of what 
had been termed immense quantities of jewels, gold 
and silver. The Spaniards took possession of the 
country and wanted to remain and settle there. But 
Vasquez refused to acquiesce ; and after naming one 
of the towns he visited, Granada, he started for the 
north-w r est, in search of other countries. The region 
called Cibola by the inhabitants, wmich Vasquez 
visited, is the territory now called Sonora, and is 
situated about the head waters of the Rivers Yaqui 
and Gila, east of the upper portion of the Gulf of 
California. The movements of the Spaniards after 
leaving Cibola, in August, 1540, have been the subject 
of very vague and contradictory accounts. All that 
is certain is, that the greater part of the force soon 
returned to Mexico, and that Vasquez, with the 
remainder, wandered through the interior for nearly 
two years longer, when, being disappointed in his 
expectations, he returned to Mexico in 1542. 

In the spring of 1542, two vessels were placed under 
2 



18 IIISTOKY OF CALIFORNIA. 

the command of Juan Roderiguez Cabrillo, a Portu 
guese navigator of great reputation. The two vessels 
sailed from Navidad, a small port in Xalisco, in June, 
1542. They rounded Cape San Lucas, and proceeded 
north-west, along the coast, as far as the 88th degree 
of latitude, when he was driven back, and took refuge 
in a harbor of one of the San Barbara islands. There 
Cabrillo died and the command devolved on Barto- 
lome Ferrelo. Ferrelo was a zealous and determined 
man, and he resolved to proceed with the expedition. 
He sailed towards the north, and on the 26th of 
February, reached a promontory near the 41st parallel 
of latitude, which he named Stormy Cape. On the 
1st of March, the ships reached the 44th parallel, but 
they were again driven south; and the men being 
almost worn out, Ferrelo resolved to go back to Mexico. 
He arrived at Navidad on the 14th of April, 1543. 
The promontory called Stormy Cape by Ferrelo, was 
the most northern portion of California visited by that 
navigator, and it is probably the same which is now 
called Cape Mendocino. 

From all accounts that they had been able to collect, 
the Spaniards concluded that neither rich and popu- 
lous countries existed beneath the 40th parallel of 
latitude, nor was there any navigable passage between 
the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to be found in the 
same region. They, therefore, ceased to explore the 
north-western territory for some time after the return 
of Ferrelo in 1543. 

Having thus given a somewhat detailed account of 
the discovery and explorations of the territory now 
called California, it will be sufficient to merely mention 
the various expeditions that visited it prior to the first 
regular settlement. In the spring of 1579, California 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 19 

was visited by Sir Francis Drake, the English naviga 
tor, who landed on the shores of a bay supposed to be 
that of San Francisco. He formally took possession 
of the country in the name of Queen Elizabeth, and 
called it New Albion. He left California on the 22d 
of July, 1579. In the spring of 1596, Sebastian 
"Viscaino, under orders from the viceroy of Mexico, 
attempted to plant colonies on the peninsula of Cali- 
fornia, but the country was soon abandoned on account 
of the barrenness of the soil and the ferocity of the 
natives. Viscaino visited the coast of Upper Califor- 
nia in 1602, and discovered and named some of the 
places Cabrillo had discovered and named long before. 
The Port San Miguel of Cabrillo was named Port San 
Diego ; Cape Galera was named Cape Conception, 
the name now borne by it ; the Port of Pines was 
named Port Monterey. This was the last expedition 
made by the Spaniards along the coast of California 
for more than a hundred and sixty years. 

Various attempts were made to establish colonies, 
garrisons, and fishing or trading ports, on the eastern 
side of the peninsula of California, during the seven- 
teenth century, but all failed, either from the want of 
funds, the sterility of the country, or the hostility of 
the natives. The pearl fishery in the gulf was the 
principal bait that attracted the Spaniards, and they 
succeeded in obtaining a considerable quantity, some 
of which were very valuable. 



20 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 



CHAPTER III. 

FEOM THE FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE REVOLUTKl? 
IN MEXICO. 

The first establishment of the Spaniards in Califor- 
nia, was made by the Jesuits, in November, 1397. 
The settlement was called Loreto, and founded on 
the eastern side of the peninsula, about two hundred 
miles from the Pacific. On entering California, the 
Jesuits encountered the same obstacles which had 
before prevented a settlement of the country. The 
land was so sterile, that it scarcely yielded sustenance 
to the most industrious tiller, and as the settlements 
were all located near the sea, fishing was the resource 
of the settlers to make up the deficiency of food. The 
natives continued hostile, and killed several of the 
Jesuit fathers. By perseverance and kindness, the 
Jesuits overcame all the obstacles with which they met, 
and within sixty years after their entrance into Califor- 
nia, they had established sixteen missions, extending 
along the eastern side of the peninsula, from Cape 
San Lucas to the head of the gulf. Each of these 
establishments consisted of a church, a fort, garrisoned 
by a few soldiers, and some stores and dwelling-housee, 
all under the control of the resident Jesuit father. 
Each of the missions formed the centre of a district 
containing several villages of converted Indians. None 
of the Jesuits visited the western coast of the peninsula 
except on one occasion, in 1716. 

Great exertions were made by the settlers to acquire 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 21 

a knowledge of the geography, natural history and 
1; nguages of the peninsula, and they appears to have 
been generally successful. The result of their re- 
searches were published in Madrid, in 1757, and the 
work was entitled a " History of California." They 
surveyed the whole coast of the Gulf of California, 
and, in 1709, Father Kuhn, one of the Jesuit fathers, 
ascertained beyond doubt the connection of the penin- 
sula with the continent, which had been denied for a 
century. But all the labors of the Jesuits were brought 
to an end in 1767. In that year, Charles III. of 
Spain, issued a decree, banishing members of that 
order from the Spanish territories ; and a strong 
military force, under command of Don Gasper de 
Portola, was despatched to California, and soon put 
an end to the rule of the Jesuits by tearing them from 
their converts. 

The Spanish government did not intend to abandon 
California. The peninsula immediately became a 
province of Mexico, and was provided with a civil and 
military government, subordinate to the viceroy of 
that country. The mission fell under the rule of the 
Dominicans, and from their mode of treatment, most 
of the converts soon returned to their former state of 
barbarism. The Spaniards soon formed establishments 
on the western side of the peninsula. In the spring 
of 1769, a number of settlers, with some soldiers and 
Franciscan friars, marched through the peninsula to- 
wards San Diego. They reached the bay of San Diego 
after a toilsome journey, and the settlement on the 
shore of the bay was begun in the middle of May, 
1769. An attempt was made, soon after, to establish 
a colony at Port Monterey ; but the party under 
Portola that went in search of the place, passed further 



22 HISTOEY OF CALIFORNIA. 

on to the bay of San Francisco, and could not retrace 
their steps before the cold weather set in, and they 
then returned to San Diego. The people left at San 
Dieco had been several times attacked by the natives, 
and after the return of Portola's party they almost 
perished for want of food. But a supply arrived on 
the very day upon which they had agreed to abandon 
the place and return to Mexico. Portola again set 
out for Monterey, and there effected a settlement. 
Parties of emigrants from Mexico came to the western 
shore of California during the year 1770, and establish- 
ments were made on the coast between San Diego and 
Monterey. The multiplication of their cattle, inde- 
pendent of the fruits of agricultural labor, before 1775, 
made the settlers of Upper California able to resist 
the perils to which their situation exposed them. 

In order to give efficiency to the operations on the 
western coast of North America, the Spanish govern- 
ment selected the port of San Bias, in Mexico, at the 
entrance of the Gulf of California, for the establish- 
ment of arsenals, ship-yards and warehouses, and 
made it the centre of all operations undertaken in that 
quarter. A marine department was created for the 
special purpose of advancing the interests of the 
Spaniards in the settlement of the western shore of 
California. By the energy displayed in managing 
this department the Spaniards succeeded in making 
eight establishments on the Pacific coast between the 
California peninsula and Cape Mendocino, before 
1779. The most southern post was San Diego, and 
the most northern, San Francisco, on the great bay 
of the same name. The establishments were almost 
entirely military and missionary, the object of the 
Spaniards being solely the occupation of the country. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 23 

The missions were under the control of the Francis- 
cans, who, unlike the Jesuits, took little care to exert 
themselves in procuring information concerning the 
country in which they were established. 

Various expeditions for exploring the coast of Upper 
California above Cape Mendocino, were made by the 
Spaniards. One of these proceeded as far north as 
the latitude of 41 degrees, and some men were landed 
on the shores of a sn;all bay, just beyond Cape Men- 
docino, and gave the harbor the name of Port Trinidad. 
The small river which flows into the Pacific near the 
place where they landed was called Pigeon River, from 
the great number of those birds in the neighborhood 
of it. The Indians appeared to be a peaceable and 
industrious race, and conducted themselves towards 
the Spaniards in the most inoffensive manner. In 
the same year, 1775, Bodega, a Spanish commander, 
returning from a voyage extended as far north as the 
58th degree of latitude, discovered a small bay which 
had not previously been described, and he accordingly 
gave it his own name, which it still retains. This Bay 
of Bodega is situated a little north of the 38th degree 
of latitude. 

Few events worth recording occurred in California, 
during the whole period of fifty years, from the first 
establishment of the Spaniards on the western coast till 
the termination of the Mexican war of independence. 
An attempt of the Russians to form a settlement on the 
shores of the Bay of Bodego, in 1815, was met with a 
remonstrance from the governor of California. The 
remonstrance of the governor was disregarded, and 
his commands to quit the place disobeyed. The Rus- 
sian agent, Kushof, denied the right of the Spaniards 
to the territory, and the governor being unable to 



24 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

enforce his commands, the intruders kept posses- 
sion of the ground until 1840, when they left of their 
own accord. 



CHAPTER IV. 



FROM THE REVOLUTION TILL THE WAR BETWEEN THE 
UNITED STATES AND MEXICO. 

Before the commencement of the struggle for inde- 
pendence in Mexico, the missions in California were, 
to some extent, fostered by the Spanish government, 
and supplies were sent to them regularly. But when 
the war began, the remittances were reduced, and the 
establishments soon began to decay. After the over- 
throw of the Spanish rule, in 1822, the territory of 
California was divided into two portions. The penin- 
sula was then called Lower California, and the w T hole 
of the continental territory called Upper California. 
When the Mexicans adopted a constitution, in 1824, 
each of these territories became entitled to send one 
representative to the National Congress. At the 
same time, the adult Indians who could be considered 
civilized, were declared citizens of the republic, and 
had lands given to them. This, of course, freed them 
from submission to the missionaries, w T ho, thus deprived 
of their authority, either returned to Spain or Mexico, 
or took refuge in other lands. The Indians being 
free from restraint, soon sank to a low depth of bar- 
barism and vice. 

Immediately after the overthrow of the Spanish 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 25 

authorities, the ports of California began to be the 
resort of foreigners, principally whalers and traders 
from the United States. The trade in which they 
engaged, that of exchanging manufactured goods for 
the provisions, hide and tallow furnished by the 
natives, was at first irregular, but as it increased, it 
became more systematic, and mercantile houses were 
established in the principal ports. The Mexican 
government became dissatisfied with this state of 
things, and ordered the governor of Upper California 
to enforce the laws which prohibited foreigners from 
entering or residing in the territories of Mexico with- 
out a special permission from the authorities. Accord- 
ingly, in 1828, a number of American citizens were 
seized at San Diego, and kept in confinement until 
1830. In that year, an insurrection broke out, 
headed by General Solis, and the captured Americans 
were of some assistance in suppressing it, and, in con- 
sideration of their services, they were permitted to 
leave the territory. 

The Mexican government strove to prevent the 
evils expected to flow from the presence of numbers 
of foreigners in California, by establishing colonies of 
their own citizens in the territory. A number of 
persons were sent out from Mexico, to settle on the 
lands of the missions, but they never reached their 
destination. The administration which originated the 
scheme was overthrown, and the new authorities 
ordered the settlers to be driven back to Mexico. In 
1836, the federal system was abolished by the Mexi- 
can government, and a new constitution adopted, 
which destroyed all state rights, and established a 
central power. This was strenuously resisted in Cali- 
people rose, and drove the Mexican 



26 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

officers from the country, declaring that they would 
remain independent until the federal constitution was 
restored. The general government issued strong pro- 
clamations against the Californians, and sent an expe- 
dition to re-establish its authority. But General 
Urrea, by whom the expedition was commanded, 
declared in favor of the federalists, and the inhabitants 
governed themselves until July, 1837, when they 
gwore allegiance to the new constitution. 

Things went on quietly in California until 1842. 
In that year, Commodore Jones, while cruising in the 
Pacific, received information which led him to believe 
that Mexico had declared war against the United 
States. He determined to strike a blow at the sup- 
posed enemy, and, accordingly, he appeared * before 
Monterey, on the 19th of October, 1842, with the 
frigate United States and the sloop-of-war Cyane. 
He demanded the surrender of all the castles, posts, 
and military places, on penalty, if refused, of the visi- 
tation of the horrors of war. The people were asto- 
nished. A council decided that no defence could be 
made, and every thing was surrendered at once to the 
unexpected Americans. The flag of the United States 
was hoisted, and the commodore issued a proclamation 
to the Californians, inviting them to submit to the 
government of the United States, which would pro- 
tect them in the exercise of their rights. The procla- 
mation was scarcely issued, before the commodore 
became aware of the peaceable relations existing 
between the United States and Mexico, and he accord- 
ingly restored the possession of Monterey to the 
authorities, and retired with his forces to his ships, 
just twenty-four hours after the surrender. This 
affair irritated + ,he inhabitants considerably, and, no 



niSTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 27 

doubt, tended to increase the ill-feeling before exist- 
ing between Mexico and the people of the United 
States. 



CHAPTER V. 

FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF TEE WAR TILL ITS CL JdK. 

War was declared by Mexico against the Unite d 
States, in May, 1846. The same month, orders were 
transmitted to Commodore Sloat, commanding the 
Pacific squadron, instructing him to protect the 
interests of the citizens of the United States near his 
station, and to employ his forces to the best advantage 
in operations directed against the Mexican territory 
on the Pacific. The fleet under Commodore Sloat 
was the largest the Americans ever sent to that quar- 
ter, and the men were anxious to commence active 
operations. Soon after receiving his first orders, the 
commodore was again instructed to take and keep 
possession of Upper California; or, at least, of the 
principal ports. 

On the 8th of June, Commodore Sloat left Mazat- 
lan, in the flag-ship Savannah, and on the 2d of July, 
reached Monterey, in Upper California. There he 
found the Cyane and Levant, and learned that the 
Portsmouth was at San Francisco, as previously 
arranged. On the morning of the 7th, Captain Mer- 
vine was sent to demand the surrender of Monterey. 
The Mexican commandant replied that he was not 
authorized to surrender the place, but referred Com- 



28 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

modore Sloat to the commanding-general of Califor 
nia. A force of two hundred and fifty marines and sea 
men was immediately landed, under Captain Mer ine, 
and they marched to the custom-house. There the} 
hoisted the American flag amid cheers and a salute of 
twenty-one guns. The proclamation of Commodore 
Sloat was then read and posted about the town. 

After taking possession of Monterey, Commodor , 
Sloat despatched a courier to the commanding-gener A 
of California, summoning him to surrender every thlig 
under his control in the country, and assuring him of 
protection if he should comply. The general refuced, 
and said he would defend the country as long as he 
could reckon on a single person to join his cause. A 
summons to surrender was also sent to the governor 
of Santa Barbara, but no answer was returned. 
Orders were despatched to Commander Montgomery, 
in the Portsmouth, at San Francisco, directing him to 
take possession of the Bay of San Francisco, and 
hoist the flag of the United States at Yerba Buena. 

On the 9th of July, the day after the receipt of his 
orders, Montgomery landed at Yerba Buena with 
seventy seamen and marines, and hoisted the American 
flag in the public square, amid the cheers of the 
people. A proclamation was then posted to the flag 
staff, and Montgomery addressed the people. The 
greater part of the seamen and marines then returned 
to the ship, leaving Lieutenant H. B. Watson with a 
small guard, formally installed as military occupant 
of the post. Thirty-two of the male residents of 
Y^erba Buena were enrolled as a volunteer corps, 
choosing their own officers. Lieutenant Missroon was 
despatched with a small party of these volunteers to 
reconnoitre the Presidio and fort. He returned the 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 29 

same day, and reported that the Presidio had been 
abandoned, and that the fort, seven miles from the 
town, was dilapidated and mounted only a few old 
pieces of cannon. The flag of the United States had 
been displayed from its ramparts. On the 11th, 
Montgomery informed Commodore Sloat that the flag 
of the United States was then flying at Yerba Buena, 
Sutter's Fort, on the Sacramento, Bodega, on the 
coast, and Sonoma. The inhabitants of these places 
appeared to be satisfied with the protection afforded 
them by the Americans. 

On the 13th of July, Commodore Sloat sent a flag 
to the foreigners of the pueblo of San Jose, about 
seventy miles from Monterey, in the interior, and 
appointed a justice of the peace in place of the alcaldes. 
On the 15th, Commodore Stockton arrived at Mon- 
terey, in the frigate Congress ; and Commodore Sloat 
being in bad health, the command devolved upon 
Stockton, and Sloat returned home. The operations 
of Commodore Stockton, from the 23d of July to the 
28th of August, 1846, have been rapidly sketched by 
himself in his despatches to the secretary of the navy. 
From these we condense a short account. 

On the 23d of July, the commodore organized the 
" California Battalion of Mounted Riflemen." Captain 
Fremont w T as appointed major, and Lieutenant Gil- 
lespie captain of the battalion. The next day, they 
were embarked on board the sloop-of-war Cyane, 
Commander Dupont, and sailed from Monterey for 
San Diego, in order to land south of the Mexican 
force, consisting of 500 men, under General Castro, 
well fortified at a place three miles from the city. A 
few days afterwards, Commodore Stockton sailed in 
the Congress for San Pedro, thirty miles from Monte- 



30 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

rey, and having landed, marched for the Mexican 
camp. When he arrived within twelve miles of the 
Mexicans, they fled in small parties, in different direc- 
tions. Most of the principal officers were afterwards 
taken, but the mounted riflemen not getting up in 
time, most of the men escaped. On the 13th of 
August, Commodore Stockton being joined by eighty 
riflemen, under Major Fremont, entered the capital 
of California, Cuidad de los Angeles, or the 
"City of the Angels." Thus, in less than a month 
after Stockton's assuming command, the American 
flag was flying from every commanding position 
in California, conquered by three hundred and sixty 
men,, mostly sailors. 

"The form of government established in California, 
after the conquest, was as follows : The executive 
power was vested in a governor, holding office for four 
years unless sooner removed by the President of the 
United States. The governor was to reside in the 
territory, be commander-in-chief of the army thereof, 
perform all the duties of a superintendent of Indian 
affairs, have a pardoning and reprieving power, com- 
mission all persons appointed to office under the laws 
of said territory, and approve all laws passed by the 
legislature before they took effect. There was the 
office of the Secretary of the Territory established, 
whose principal duty was to preserve all the laws and 
proceedings of the legislative council, and all the acts 
and proceedings of the governor. The legislative 
power was vested in the governor and a council of 
seven persons, who were to be appointed by the governor 
at first, and hold their office for two years ; afterwards 
they were to be elected by the people. All the laws 
of Mexico, and the municipal officers existing in the 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 81 

territory before the conquest, were continued until 
altered by the governor and council. 

On the 15th of August, 1846, Commodore Stockton 
adopted a tariff of duties on all goods imported from 
foreign parts, of fifteen per cent, ad valorem, and a 
tonnage duty of fifty cents per ton on all foreign ves- 
sels. On the 15th of September, when the elections 
were held, Walter Colton, the chaplain of the frigate 
Congress, was elected Alcalde of Monterey. In the 
mean time, a newspaper called the " Californian," had 
been established by Messrs. Colton and Semple. This 
was the first newspaper issued in California. 

Early in September, Commodore Stockton withdrew 
his forces from Los Angeles, and proceeded with his 
squadron to San Francisco. Scarcely had he arrived 
when he received intelligence that all the country 
below Monterey was in arms and the Mexican flag 
again hoisted. The Californians invested the " City 
of the Angels," on the 23d of September. That 
place was guarded by thirty riflemen under Captain 
Gillespie, and the Californians investing it numbered 
300. Finding himself overpowered, Captain Gillespie 
capitulated on the 30th, and thence retired with all 
the foreigners aboard of a sloop-of-war, and sailed for 
Monterey. Lieutenant Talbot, who commanded only 
nine men at Santa Barbara, refused to surrender, and 
marched out with his men, arms in hand. The frigate 
Savannah was sent to relieve Los Angeles, but she 
did not arrive till after the above events had occurred-, 
Her crew, numbering 320 men, landed at San Pedro 
and marched to meet the Californians. About half 
way between San Pedro and Los Angeles, about 
fifteen miles from their ship, the sailors found the 
enemy drawn up on a plain. The Californians were 
3 B* 



82 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

mounted on fine horses, and with artillery, had every 
advantage. The sailors were forced to retreat with a 
loss of five killed and six wounded. 

Commodore Stockton came down in the Congress 
to San Pedro, and then marched for the " City of the 
Angels," the men dragging six of the ship's guns. At 
the Rancho Sepulvida, a large force of the Californians 
was posted. Commodore Stockton sent one hundred 
men forward to receive the fire of the enemy and then 
fall back upon the main body without returning it. The 
main body was formed in a triangle, with the guns 
hid by the men. By the retreat of the advance party, 
the enemy were decoyed close to the main force, when 
the wings were extended and a deadly fire opened 
upon the astonished Californians. More than a hun- 
dred were killed, the same number wounded, and their 
whole force routed. About a hundred prisoners were 
taken, many of whom were at the time on parole and 
had signed an obligation not to take up arms during 
the war. 

Commodore Stockton soon mounted his men and 
prepared for operations on shore. Skirmishes followed, 
and were continually occurring until January, 1847, 
when a decisive action occurred. General Kearny 
had arrived in California, after a long and painful 
march overland, and his co-operation was of great 
service to Stockton. The Americans left San Diego 
on the 29th of December, to march to Los Angeles. 
The Californians determined to meet them on their 
route, and decide the fate of the country in a general 
battle. The American force amounted to six hundred 
men, and was composed of detachments from the ships 
Congress, Savannah, Portsmouth and Cyane, aided 
by General Kearny, with sixty men on foot, from the 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. &'6 

first regiment of United States dragoons, and Captain 
Gillespie with sixty mounted riflemen. The troops 
marched one hundred and ten miles in ten days, and, 
on the 8th of January, they found the Californians in 
a strong position on the high bank of the San Gabriel 
river, with six hundred mounted men and four pieces 
of artillery, prepared to dispute the passage of the 
river. The Americans waded through the water, 
dragging their guns with them, exposed to a galling 
fire from the enemy, without returning a shot. When 
they reached the opposite shore, the Californians 
charged upon them, but were driven back. They 
then charged up the bank and succeeded in driving 
the Californians from their post. Stockton, with his 
force, continued his march, and the next day, in cross- 
ing the plains of Mesa, the enemy made another 
attempt to save their capital. They were concealed 
with their artillery in a ravine, until the Americans 
came within gun-shot, when they opened a brisk fire 
upon their right flank, and at the same time charged 
both their front and rear. But the guns of the Cali- 
fornians were soon silenced, and the charge repelled. 
The Californians then fled, and the next morning the 
Americans entered Los Angeles without opposition. 
The loss of the Americans in killed and wounded did 
not exceed twenty, while that of their opponents 
reached between seventy and eighty. 

These two battles decided the contest in California. 
General Flores, governor and commandant-general of 
the Californians, as he styled himself, immediately 
after the Americans entered Los Angeles, made his 
escape and his troops dispersed. The territory be- 
came again tranquil, and the civil government was 
soon ?n operation again in the places where it had 



34 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

been interrupted by the revolt. Commodore Stockton 
and General Kearny having a misunderstanding 
about their respective powers, Colonel Fremont 
exercised the duties of governor and commander-in- 
chief of California, declining to obey the orders of 
General Kearny. 

The account of the adventures and skirmishes with 
which the small force of United States troops under 
General Kearny met, while on their march to San 
Diego, in Upper California, is one of the most in- 
teresting to which the contest gave birth. The party, 
which consisted of one hundred men when it started 
from Santa F£, reached Warner's rancho, the fron- 
tier settlement in California, on the Sonoma route, 
on the 2d of December, 1846. They continued their 
march, and on the 5th were met by a small party of 
volunteers, under Captain Gillespie, sent out by Com- 
modore Stockton to meet them, and inform them of 
the revolt of the Californians. The party encamped 
for the night at Stokes's rancho, about forty miles 
from San Diego. Information was received that 
an armed party of Californians was at San Pas- 
qual, three leagues from Stokes's rancho. A party 
of dragoons was sent out to reconnoitre, and they re- 
turned by two o'clock on the morning of the 6th. 
Their information determined General Kearny to 
attack the Californians before daylight, and arrange- 
ments were accordingly made. Captain Johnson was 
given the command of an advance party of twelve 
dragoons, mounted upon the best horses in possession 
of the party. Then followed fifty dragoons, under 
Captain Moore, mounted mostly on the tired mules 
they had ridden from Santa Fe — a distance of 1050 
miles. Next came about twenty volunteers, under 



niSTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 85 

Captain Gibson. Then followed two mountain howit- 
zers, with dragoons to manage them, under charge of 
Lieutenant Davidson. The remainder of the dragoons 
and volunteers were placed under command of Major 
Swords, with orders to follow on the trail with the 
baggage. 

As the day of December 6th dawned, the enemy at 
San Pasqual were seen to be already in the saddle, 
and Captain Johnson, with his advance guard, made a 
furious charge upon them ; he being supported by the 
dragoons, the Californians at length gave way. They 
had kept up a continual fire from the first appearance 
of the dragoons, and had done considerable execution. 
Captain Johnson was shot dead in his first charge. 
The enemy were pursued by Captain Moore and his 
dragoons, and they retreated about half a mile, when 
seeing an interval between the small advance party 
of Captain Moore and the main force coming to his 
support, they rallied their whole force, and charged 
with their lances. For five minutes they held the 
ground, doing considerable execution, until the arrival 
cf the rest of the American party, when they broke 
end fled. The troops of Kearny lost two captains, 
a lieutenant, two sergeants, two corporals, and twelve 
privates. Among the wounded were General Kearny, 
Lieutenant Warner, Captains Gillespie and Gibson, 
one sergeant, one bugleman, and nine privates. The 
Californians carried off all their wounded and dead 
except six. 

On the 7th the march was resumed, and, near San 
Bernardo, Kearny's advance encountered and defeated 
a small party of the Californians who had taken post 
on a hill. At San Bernardo, the troops remained till 
the morning of the 11th, when they were joined by a 



36 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

party of sailors and marines, tinder Lieutenant Gray. 
They then proceeded upon their march, and on the 
12th, arrived at San Diego ; having thus completed a 
march of eleven hundred miles through an enemy's 
country, with but one hundred men. The force of 
General Kearny having joined that of Commodore 
Stockton, the expedition against Los Angeles, of 
which we have given an account in this chapter, was 
successfully consummated, and tranquillity restored in 
California. General Kearny and Commodore Stock- 
ton returned to the United States in January, 1847, 
leaving Colonel Fremont to exercise the office of 
governor and military commandant of California. No 
further events of an importance worth recording occur- 
red till the treaty of peace between the United States 
and Mexico. 



CHAPTER VI. 

DISCOVERY OF THE GOLD PLACERS. 

By the treaty concluded between the United States 
and Mexico, in 1847, the territory of Upper Califor- 
nia became the property of the United States. Little 
thought the Mexican government of the value of the 
land they were ceding, further than its commercial 
importance ; and, doubtless, little thought the buyers 
of the territory, that its soil was pregnant with a 
wealth untold, and that its rivers flowed over golden 
beds. 

This territory, now belonging to the American 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 37 

l/nion, embraces an area of 448,901 square miles. It 
extends along the Pacific coast, from about the thirty- 
tecond parallel of north latitude, a distance of near 
ceven hundred miles, to the forty-second parallel, the 
southern boundary of Oregon. On the east, it is 
bounded by New Mexico. During the long period 
which transpired between its discovery and its cession 
to the United States, this vast tract of country was 
frequently visited by men of science, from all parts 
of the world. Repeated examinations were made by 
learned and enterprising officers and civilians ; but 
none of them discovered the important fact, that the 
mountain torrents of the Sierra Nevada were con- 
stantly pouring down their golden sands into the 
valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin. The 
glittering particles twinkled beneath their feet, in the 
ravines which they explored, or glistened in the water- 
courses which they forded, yet they passed them by 
unheeded. Not a legend or tradition was heard 
among the white settlers, or tho aborigines, that 
attracted their curiosity. A nation's ransom lay 
within their grasp, but, strange to say, it escaped their 
notice — it flashed and sparkled all in vain.* 

The Russian American Company had a large 
establishment at Ross and Bodega, ninety miles north 
of San Francisco, founded in the year 1812 ; and 
factories were also established in the territory by the 
Hudson Bay Company. Their agents and employes 
ransacked the whole country west of the Sierra 
Nevada, or Snowy Mountain, in search of game. In 
1838, Captain Sutter, formerly an officer in the Swiss 

* A gold placera was discovered some years ago, near the mission 
of San Fernando, but it was very little worked, on account of the 
want of water. 



38 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

Guards of Charles X., King of France, emigiated 
from the state of Missouri to Upper California, and 
obtained from the Mexican government a conditional 
grant of thirty leagues square of land, bounded on the 
west by the Sacramento river. Having purchased 
the stock, arms, and ammunition of the Russian 
establishment, he erected a dwelling and fortification 
on the left bank of the Sacramento, about fifty miles 
from its mouth, and near what was termed, in allusion 
to the new settlers, the American Fork. This formed 
the nucleus of a thriving settlement, to which Captain 
Sutter gave the name of New Helvetia. It is situated 
at the head of navigation for vessels on the Sacra- 
mento, in latitude 38° 33' 45" north, and longitude 
121° 20' 05" west. During a residence of ten years 
in the immediate vicinity of the recently discovered 
placSras, or gold regions, Captain Sutter was neither 
the wiser nor the richer for the brilliant treasures 
that lay scattered around him.* 

In the year 1841, careful examinations of the Bay 
of San Francisco, and of the Sacramento River and 
its tributaries, were made by Lieutenant Wilkes, the 
commander of the Exploring Expedition ; and a party 
under Lieutenant Emmons, of the navy, proceeded up 
the valley of the Willamette, crossed the intervening 
highlands, and descended the Sacramento. In 1843-4, 
similar examinations were made by Captain, after- 
wards Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont, of the Topogra- 
phical Engineers, and in 1846, by Major Emory, of 
the same corps. None of these officers made any 
discoveries of minerals, although the^ were led to 
conjecture, as private individuals who had visited the 

* Farnham's Adventures in California.— Wilkes's Narrative of in* 
Exploring Expedition. — Fremont's Narrative. 



niSTOKY OF CALIFORNIA. 89 

country had done, from its volcanic formation and 
peculiar geological features, that they might be found 
to exist in considerable quantities.* 

As is often the case, chance at length accomplished 
what science had failed to do. In the winter of 
1847-8, a Mr. Marshall commenced the construction 
of a saw-mill for Captain Sutter, on the north branch 
of the American Fork, and about fifty miles above 
New Helvetia, in a region abounding with pine timber. 
The dam and race were completed, but on attempting 
to put the mill in motion, it was ascertained that the 
tail-race was too narrow to permit the water to escape 
with perfect freedom. A strong current was then 
passed in, to wash it wider and deeper, by which a 
large bed of mud and gravel was thrown up at the 
foot of the race. Some days after this occurrence, 
Mr. Marshall observed a number of brilliant particles 
on this deposit of mud, which attracted his attention. 
On examining them, he became satisfied that they 
were gold, and communicated the fact to Captain 
Sutter. It was agreed between them, that the cir- 
cumstance should not be made public for the present ; 
but, like the secret of Midas, it could not be-concealed. 
The Mormon emigrants, of whom Mr. Marshall was 
one, were soon made acquainted with the discovery, 
and in a few weeks all California was agitated with 
the starling information. 

* See Farnham's Adventures. Wilkes's and Fremont's Narratives, 
and Emory's Report.— In 1840, Eugenio Macnamara, a Catholic priest 
and Missionary, obtained a grant of a large tract of land between the 
San Joaquin and the Sierra Nevada, the Cosumnes and the Tulares 
in the vicinity of San Gabriel, from Pio Pico, governor of the Califor- 
nias, for the purpose of establishing upon it a large colony of Irish 
Catholics ; but the grant was not ratified by the Central Government, 
and the project was not carried into effect. There is no evidence 
that Father Macnamara was aware of the existence of gold in the 
valley of the San Joaquin. 



40 HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 

Bushi3ss of every kind was neglected, and the 
ripened grain was left in the fields unharvested. 
Nearly the whole population of Upper California be- 
came infected with the mania, and flocked to the 
mines. Whalers and merchant vessels entering the 
ports were abandoned by their crews, and the Ameri- 
can soldiers and sailors deserted in scores. Upon the 
disbandment of Colonel Stevenson's regiment, most 
of the men made their way to the mineral regions. 
Within three months after the discovery, it was com- 
puted that there were near four thousand persons, 
including Indians, who were mostly employed by the 
whites, engaged in washing for gold. Various modes 
were adopted to separate the metal from the sand and 
gravel — some making use of tin pans, others of close- 
woven Indian baskets, and others still, of a rude 
machine called the cradle, six or eight feet long, and 
mounted on rockers, with a coarse grate, or sieve, at 
one end, but open at the other. The .washings were 
mainly confined to the low wet grounds, and the mar- 
gins of the streams — the earth being rarely disturbed 
more than eighteen inches below the surface. The 
value of the gold dust obtained by each man, per day, 
is said to have ranged from ten to fifty dollars, and 
sometimes even to have far exceeded that. The natu- 
ral consequence of this state of things was, that the 
price of labor, and, indeed, of every thing, rose imme- 
diately from ten to twenty fold.* 

As may readily be conjectured, every stream and 
ravine in the valley of the Sacramento was soon ex- 
plored. Gold was found on every one of its tributa- 

♦ Official Despatch of Colonel Mason, Commander of the 10th Mili- 
tary Department, August 17, 1848.— Letters of Thomas C. Larkin, 
U. S. Consul at Monterey, to the Secretary of State, June 1, and 

June 28, 1843. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 41 

ries ; but the richest earth was discovered near the 
Rio de los Plumas, or Feather River,* and its branches, 
the Yuba and Bear rivers, and on Weber's creek, a 
tributary of the American Fork. Explorations were 
also made in the valley of the San Joaquin, which 
resulted in the discovery of gold on the Cosumne's 
and other streams, and in the ravines of the Coast 
Range, west of the valley, as far down as Ciudad de 
los Angeles. 

In addition to the gold mines, other important dis- 
coveries were made in Upper California. A rich vein 
of quicksilver was opened at New Almaden, near Santa 
Clara, which, with imperfect machinery, — the heat by 
which the metal is made to exude from the rock being 
applied by a very rude process, — yielded over thirty 
per cent. This mine — one of the principal advan- 
tages to be derived from which will be, that the work- 
ing of the silver mines scattered through the territory 
must now become profitable — is superior to those 
of Almaden, in Old Spain, and second only to 
those of Idria, near Trieste, the richest in the 
world. 

Lead mines were likewise discovered in the neigh- 
borhood of Sonoma, and vast beds of iron ore near 
the American Fork, yielding from eighty-five to ninety 
per cent. Copper, platina, tin, sulphur, zinc, and 
cobalt, were discovered every where ; coal was found 
to exist in large quantities in the Cascade range of 
Oregon, of which the Sierra Nevada is a continuation ; 
and in the vicinity of all this mineral wealth, there 

* Feather River is the first considerable branch of the Sacramento 
below the Prairie Buttes. It has a course of about forty miles, and 
empties into the main river about fifteen miles above New Helvetia, 
Though the Sacramento is navigable lor vessels only to that pJac*., 
boats can pass up one hundred miles further. 



#2 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

are immense quarries of marble and granite, for 
building purposes. 

Colonel Mason had succeeded Colonel Fremont :n 
the post of governor of California and military com- 
mandant. A regiment of New York troops, under 
the command of Colonel Stevenson, had been ordered 
to California before the conclusion of the treaty of 
peace, and formed the principal part of the military 
force in the territory. 

Colonel Mason expressed the opinion, in his official 
despatch, that "there is more gold in the country 
drained by the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, 
than will pay the cost of the [late] war with Mexico 
a hundred times over." Should this even prove to be 
an exaggeration, there can be little reason to doubt, 
when we take into consideration all the mineral re- 
sources of the country, that the territory of California 
is by far the richest acquisition made by this govern- 
ment since its organization. 

The appearance of the mines, at the period of 
Governor Mason's visit, three months after the dis- 
covery, he thus graphically describes : 

" At the urgent solicitation of many gentlemen, I 
delayed there [at Sutter's Fort] to participate in the 
first public celebration of our national anniversary at 
that fort, but on the 5th resumed the journey, and 
proceeded twenty-five miles up the American Fork to 
a point on it now known as the Lower Mines, or Mor- 
mon Diggins. The hill-sides were thickly strewn with 
canvas tents and bush arbors ; a store was erected, 
and several boarding shanties in operation. The day 
was intensely hot, yet about two hundred men were 
at work in the full glare of the sun, washing for gold 
—some with tin pans, some with close-woven Indian 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 43 

baskets, but the greater part had a rude machine, 
known as the cradle. This is on rockers, six or eight 
feet long, open at the foot, and at its head has a coarse 
grate, or sieve; the bottom is rounded, with small 
cleats nailed across. Four men are required to work 
this machine ; one digs the ground in the bank close 
by the stream ; another carries it to the cradle and 
empties it on the grate ; a third gives a violent rock- 
in c motion to the machine ; while a fourth dashes on 
water from the stream itself. 

" The sieve keeps the coarse stones from entering 
the cradle, the current of water washes off the earthy 
matter, and the gravel is gradually carried out at the 
foot of the machine, leaving the gold mixed with a 
heavy, fine black sand above the first cleats. The 
sand and gold, mixed together, are then drawn off 
through auger holes into a pan below, are dried in the 
sun, and afterward separated by blowing off the sand. 
A party of four men thus employed at the lower 
mines, averaged $100 a day. The Indians, and those 
who have nothing but pans or willow baskets, gradu- 
ally wash out the earth and separate the gravel by 
hand, leaving nothing but the gold mixed with sandj 
which is separated in the manner before described. 
The gold in the lower mines is in fine bright scales, 
of which I send several specimens. 

" From the mill [where the gold was first discovered], 
Mr. Marshall guided me up the mountain on the 
opposite or north bank of the south fork, where, in 
the bed of small streams or ravines, now dry, a great 
deal of coarse gold has been found. I there saw 
several parties at work, all of whom were doing very 
well ; a great many specimens were shown me, some 
as heavy as four or five ounces in weight, and I send 



44 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

three pieces, labeled No. 5, presented by a Mr. Spence, 
You will perceive that some of the specimens accom- 
panying this, hold mechanically pieces of quartz ; that 
the surface is rough, and evidently moulded in the 
crevice of a rock. This gold cannot have been car- 
ried far by water, but must have remained near where 
it was first deposited from the rock that once bound 
it. I inquired of many people if they had encountered 
the metal in its matrix, but in every instance they 
said they had not ; but that the gold was invariably 
mixed with washed gravel, or lodged in the crevices 
of other rocks. All bore testimony that they had 
found gold in greater or less quantities in the numer- 
ous small gullies or ravines that occur in that moun- 
tainous region. 

" On the 7th of July I left the mill, and crossed to 
a stream emptying into the American Fork, three or 
four miles below the saw-mill. I struck this stream 
(now known as Weber's creek) at the washings of 
Sunol and Co. They had about thirty Indians em- 
ployed, whom they payed in merchandise. They were 
getting gold of a character similar to that found in 
the main fork, and doubtless in sufficient quantities to 
satisfy them. I send you a small specimen, presented 
by this company, of their gold. From this point, we 
proceeded up the stream about eight miles, where we 
found a great many people and Indians — some engaged 
in the bed of the stream, and others in the small side 
valleys that put into it. These latter are exceedingly 
rich, and two ounces were considered an ordinary yield 
for a day's work. A small gutter not more than a 
hundred yards long, by four feet wide and two or three 
feet deep, was pointed out to me as the one where two 
men — William Daly and Parry McCoon — had, a short 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 45 

time before, obtained $17,000 worth of gold. Captain 
Weber informed me that he knew that these two men 
had employed four white men and about a hundred 
Indians, and that, at the end of one week's work, they 
paid off their party, and had left $10,000 worth of 
this gold. Another small ravine was shown me, from 
which had been taken upward of $12,000 worth of 
gold. Hundreds of similar ravines, to all appearances, 
are as yet untouched. I could not have credited these 
reports, had I not seen, in the abundance of the pre- 
cious metal, evidence of their truth. 

" Mr. Neligh, an agent of Commodore Stockton, 
had been at work about three weeks in the neighbor- 
hood, and showed me, in bags and bottles, over $2000 
worth of gold ; and Mr. Lyman, a gentleman of edu- 
cation, and worthy of every credit, said he had been 
engaged, with four others, with a machine, on the 
American Fork, just below Sutter's mill; that they 
worked eight days, and that his share was at the rate 
of fifty dollars a day; but hearing that others were 
doing better at Weber's place, they had removed there, 
and were then on the point of resuming operations. I 
might tell of hundreds of similar instances ; but, to 
illustrate how plentiful the gold was in the pockets of 
common laborers, I will mention a single occurrence 
which took place in my presence when I was at 
Weber's store. This store was nothing but an arbor 
of bushes, under which he had exposed for sale goods 
and groceries suited to his customers. A man came 
in, picked up a box of Seidlitz powders, and asked the 
price. Captain Weber told him it was not for sale. 
The man offered an ounce of gold, but Captain W r eber 
told him it only cost fifty cents, and he did not wish 
to sell it. The man then offered an ounce and a h&lfj 



46 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

when Captain Weber had to take it. The prices of 
all things are high, and yet Indians, who before hardly 
knew what a breech cloth was, can now afford to buy 
the most gaudy dresses. 

66 The country on either side of Weber's creek is 
much broken up by hills, and is intersected in every 
direction by small streams or ravines, which contain 
more or less gold. Those that have been worked are 
barely scratched ; and although thousands of ounces 
have been carried away, I do not consider that a seri- 
ous impression has been made upon the whole. Every 
day was developing new and richer deposits ; and the 
only impression seemed to be, that the metal would be 
found in such abundance as seriously to depreciate in 
value. 

" On the 8th of July, I returned to the lower mines, 
and on the following day to Sutter's, where, on the 
19th, I wajs making preparations for a visit to the 
Feather, Yuba, and Bear Rivers, when I received a 
letter from Commander A. R. Long, United States 
Navy, who had just arrived at San Francisco from 
Mazatlan with a crew for the sloop-of-war Warren, 
with orders to take that vessel to the squadron at La 
Paz. Captain Long wrote to me that the Mexican 
Congress had adjourned without ratifying the treaty 
of peace, that he had letters from Commodore Jones, 
and that his orders were to sail with the Warren on or 
before the 20th of July. In consequence of these, I 
determined to return to Monterey, and accordingly 
arrived here on the 17th of July. Before leaving 
Sutter's, I satisfied myself that gold existed in the bed 
of the Feather River, in the Yuba and Bear, and in 
many of the smaller streams that lie between the 
latter and the American Fork; also, that it had been 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 47 

found in the Cosumnes to the south of the American 
Fork. In each of these streams the gold is found in 
small scales, whereas in the intervening mountains it 
occurs in coarser lumps. 

"Mr. Sinclair, wh.so rancho is three miles above 
Sutter's, on the north side of the American, employs 
about fifty Indians on the north fork, not far from its 
junction with the main stream. He had been engaged 
about five weeks when I saw him, and up to that time 
his Indians had used simply closely woven willow 
baskets. His net proceeds (which I saw) were about 
$16,000 worth of gold. He showed me the proceeds 
of his last week's work — fourteen pounds avoirdupois 
of clean-washed gold. 

" The principal store at Sutter's Fort, that of 
Brannan and Co., had received in payment for goods 
{36,000 (worth of this gold) from the 1st of May to 
the 10th of July. Other merchants had also made 
extensive sales. Large quantities of goods were daily 
sent forward to the mines, as the Indians, heretofore 
so poor and degraded, have suddenly become con- 
sumers of the luxuries of life. I before mentioned 
that the greater part of the farmers , and rancheros 
had abandoned their fields to go to the mines. This 
is not the case with Captain Sutter, who was carefully 
gathering his wheat, estimated at 40,000 bushels. 
Flour is already worth at Sutter's thirty-six dollars a 
barrel, and soon will be fifty. Unless large quantities 
of breadstuffs reach the country, much suffering will 
occur ; but as each man is now able to pay a large 
price, it is believed the merchants will bring from Chili 
and Oregon a plentiful supply for the coming winter. 

" The most moderate estimate I could obtain from 
men acquainted with the subject, was, that upward of 



48 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

four thousand men were working in the gold district, 
of whom more than one-half were Indians ; and that 
from $30,000 to $50,000 worth of gold, if not more, 
was daily obtained. The entire gold district, with 
very few exceptions of grants made some years ago 
by the Mexican authorities, is on land belonging to 
the United States. It was a matter of serious reflec- 
tion with me, how I could secure to the government 
certain rents or fees for the privilege of procuring 
this gold ; but upon considering the large extent of 
country, the character of the people engaged, and the 
small scattered force at my command, I resolved not 
to interfere, but to permit all to work freely, unless 
broils and crimes should call for interference. I was 
surprised to hear that crime of any kind was very un- 
frequent, and that no thefts or robberies had been 
committed in the gold district. 

" All live in tents, in bush arbors, or in the open air ; 
and men have frequently about their persons thousands 
of dollars worth of this gold, and it was to me a mat- 
ter of surprise that so peaceful and quiet state of 
things should continue to exist. Conflicting claims to 
particular spots of ground may cause collisions, but 
they wDl be rare, as the extent of country is so great, 
and the gold so abundant, that for the present there 
is room enough for all. Still the government is entitled 
to rents for this land, and immediate steps should be 
devised to collect them, for the longer it is delayed 
the more difficult it will become. One plan I would 
suggest is, to send out from the United States survey- 
ors with high salaries, bound to serve specified periods. 

" The discovery of these vast deposits of gold has 
entirely changed the character of Upper California. 
Its people, before engaged in cultivating their smal] 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 49 

patches of ground, and guarding their herds of cattle 
and horses, have all gone to the mines, or are on their 
way thither. Laborers of every trade have left their 
work benches, and tradesmen their shops. Sailors 
desert their ships as fast as they arrive on the coast, 
and several vessels have gone to sea with hardly 
enough hands to spread a sail. Two or three are now 
at anchor in San Francisco with no crew on board. 
Many desertions, too, have taken place from the gar- 
risons within the influence of these mines ; twenty-six 
soldiers have deserted from the post of Sonoma, 
twenty-four from that of San Francisco, and twenty- 
four from Monterey. For a few days the evil appeared 
so threatening, that great danger existed that the gar- 
risons would leave in a body ; and I refer you to my 
orders of the 25th of July, to show the steps adopted 
to meet this contingency. I shall spare no exertions 
to apprehend and punish deserters, but I believe no 
time in the history of our country has presented such 
temptations to desert as now exist in California. 

" The danger of apprehension is small, and the 
prospect of high wages certain ; pay and bounties are 
trifles, as laboring men at the mines can now earn in 
one day more than double a soldier's pay and allow- 
ances for a month, and even the pay of a lieutenant 
or captain cannot hire a servant. A carpenter or 
mechanic would not listen to an offer of less than 
fifteen or twenty dollars a day. Could any combina- 
tion of affairs try a man's fidelity more than this ? I 
really think some extraordinary mark of favor should 
be given to those soldiers who remain faithful to their 
flag throughout this tempting crisis. 

"Many private letters have gone to the United 
States, giving accounts of the vast quantity of gold 



50 HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 

recently discovered, and it maybe a matter of surprise 
why I have made no report on this subject at an earlier 
date. The reason is, that I could not bring myself 
to believe the reports that I heard of the wealth of 
the gold district until I visited it mvself. I have no 
hesitation now in saying that there is more gold in the 
country drained by the Sacramento and San Joaquin 
Rivers than will pay the cost of the present war with 
Mexico a hundred times over. No capital is required 
to obtain this gold, as the laboring man wants nothing 
but his pick and shovel and tin pan, with which to dig 
and wash the gravel ; and many frequently pick gold 
out of the crevices of the rocks with their butcher 
knives, in pieces of from one to six ounces. 

" Mr. Dye, a gentleman residing in Monterey, and 
worthy of every credit, has just returned from Feather 
River. He tells me that the company to which he 
belonged worked seven weeks and two days, with an 
average of fifty Indians (washers,) and that their gross 
product was two hundred and seventy-three pounds 
of gold. His share (one seventh,) after paying all 
expenses, is about thirty-seven pounds, which he 
brought with him and exhibited in Monterey. I see 
no laboring man from the mines who does not show 
his two, three, pr four pounds of gold. A soldier of 
the artillery company returned here a few days ago 
from the mines, having been absent on furlough twenty 
days. He made by trading and working, during that 
time, $1500. During these twenty days he was 
travelling ten or eleven days, leaving but a week in 
which he made a sum of money greater than he re- 
ceives in pay, clothes, and rations, during a whole 
enlistment of five years. These statements appear 
incredible, but they are true. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 51 

" Gold is also believed to exist on the eastern slope 
of the Sierra Nevada ; and when at the mines, I was 
informed by an intelligent Mormon that it had been 
found near the Great Salt Lake by some of his frater- 
nity. Nearly all the Mormons are leaving California 
to go to the Salt Lake, and this they surely would not 
do unless they were sure of finding gold there in the 
same abundance as they now do on the Sacramento. 

" The gold ' placer' near the mission of San Fer- 
nando has long been known, but has been little wrought 
for want of water. This is a spur which puts off from 
the Sierra Nevada (see Fremont's map,) the same in 
which the present mines occur. There is, therefore, 
every reason to believe, that in the intervening spaces, 
of five hundred miles (entirely unexplored) there must 
be many hidden and rich deposits. The ' placer' gold 
is now substituted as the currency of this country ; in 
trade it passes freely at $16 per ounce ; as an article 
of commerce its value is not yet fixed. The only 
purchase I made was of the specimen No. 7, which I 
got of Mr. Neligh at $12 the ounce. That is about 
the present cash value in the country, although it has 
been sold for less. The great demand for goods and 
provisions, made by this sudden development of wealth, 
has increased the amount of commerce at San Fran- 
cisco very much, and it will continue to increase." 

The Calif ornian, published at San Francisco on the 
14th of August, furnishes the following interesting 
account of the Gold Region : 

" It was our intention to present our readers with a 
description of the extensive gold, silver, and iron mines, 
recently discovered in the Sierra Nevada, together 
with some other important items, for the good of the 
people, but we are compelled to defer it for a future 



52 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

number. Our prices current, many valuable commu- 
nications, our marine journal, and other important 
matters, have also been crowded out. But to enable 
our distant readers to draw some idea of the extent 
of the gold mine, we will confine our remarks to a few 
facts. The country from the Ajuba to the San Joaquin 
rivers, a distance of about one hundred and twenty 
miles, and from the base toward the summit of the 
mountains, as far as Snow Hill, about seventy miles, 
has been explored, and gold found on every part. 
There are now probably 3000 people, including Indians, 
engaged collecting gold. The amount collected by 
each man who works, ranges from $10 to $350 per 
day. The publisher of this paper, while on a tour 
alone to the mining district, collected, with the aid 
of a shovel, pick and tin pan, about twenty inches in 
diameter, from $44 to $128 a day — averaging $100. 
The gross amount collected will probably exceed 
$600,000, of which amount our merchants have re- 
ceived about $250,000 worth for goods sold ; all within 
the short space of eight weeks. The largest piece of 
gold known to be found weighed four pounds. 

" Labor has ever been high in California, but pre- 
vious to the discovery of the placer.a gold, the rates 
ranged from $1 to $3 per day. Since that epoch 
common labor cannot be obtained, and if to be had, 
for no less price than fifty cents per hour, and that the 
most common. Carpenters and other mechanics have 
been offered $15 a day, but it has been flatly refused. 
Many of our enterprising citizens were largely engaged 
in building, and others wish to commence on dwellings, 
warehouses, and the like, but all have had to suspend 
for the lack of that all important class of community, 
the working men." 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 53 

The following extracts from the published journal 
of a physician in California, give accounts of the recep- 
tion of the news of the gold discovery in San Fran* 
cisco, with its consequent effects. 

" May 8th. — Captain Fulsom called at Sweeting's 
to-day. He had seen a man this morning, who reported 
that he had just come from a river called the American 
Fork, about one hundred miles in the interior, where 
he had been gold washing. Captain Fulsom saw the 
gold he had with him; it was about twenty-three 
ounces weight, and in small flakes. The man stated 
that he was eight days getting it, but Captain Fulsom 
hardly believed this. He says that he saw some of 
this gold a few weeks since, and thought it was only 
' mica/ but good judges have pronounced it to be 
genuine metal. He talks, however, of paying a visit 
to the place where it is reported to come from. After 
he was gone, Bradley stated that the Sacramento 
settlements, which Malcolm wished to visit, were in 
the neighborhood of the American Fork, and that we 
might go there together ; he thought the distance was 
only one hundred and twenty miles. 

"May 10th. — Yesterday and to-day nothing has 
been talked of but the new gold ' placer,' as people 
call it. It seems that four other men had accompanied 
the person Captain Fulsom saw yesterday, and that 
they had each realized a large quantity of gold. They 
left the ' diggings' on the American Fork, (which it 
seems is the Rio de los Americanos, a tributary to the 
Sacramento) about a week ago, and stopped a day or 
two at Sutter's Fort, a few miles this side of the dig- 
gings, on their way ; from there they had travelled 
by boat to San Francisco. The gold they brought 
has been examined by the first Alcalde here, and by 
C* 



54 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

all the merchants in the place. Bradley showed ns a 
lump weighing a quarter of an ounce, which he had 
bought of one of the men, and for which he gave him 
three dollars and a half. I have no doubt in my own 
mind about its being genuine gold. Several parties, 
we hear, are already made up to visit the diggings ; 
and, according to the newspaper here, a number of 
people have actually started off with shovels, mattocks, 
and pans, to dig the gold themselves. It is not likely, 
however, that this will be allowed, for Captain Fulsom 
has already written to Colonel Mason about taking 
possession of the nine on behalf of the government, 
it being, as he says, on public land. 

" May 17th. — This place is now in a perfect furor of 
excitement ; all the work-people have struck. Walking 
through the town to-day, I observed that laborers 
were employed only upon about half-a-dozen of the 
fifty new buildings which were in the course of being 
run up. The majority of the mechanics at this place 
are making preparations for moving off to the mines, 
and several hundred people of all classes — lawyers, 
store-keepers, merchants, &c, — are bitten with the 
fever; in fact, there is a regular gold mania springing 
up. I counted no less than eighteen houses which were 
closed, the owners having left." 

The mania continued +o increase, and within a few 
months all the principal towns were nearly emptied 
of their population, (jold was the universal object, 
and splendid and rapid fortune the universal hope. 
No occupation seemed to offer such a prospect as that 
of digging gold, and, accordingly, those who were not 
able to bear the fatigues of such work, or were at the 
head of any sort of business in the different towns, had 
to pay enormous prices for the labor of subordinates 



niSTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 55 

who performed the meanest services. The prices of 
all agricultural and manufactured products became 
treble the previous rates. 

Soon came the first waves of the tide of emigration 
that was to flood the placers of the gold region. The 
first influx consisted of Mexicans of the province of 
Sonoma, Chilians, and some few Chinese. These, 
principally took possession of the southern mines, or 
those on the San Joaquin and its tributaries. Some 
few stopped at San Francisco, and secured lots of 
ground which they knew would become very valuable 
in a short time, and erected temporary stores and 
dwellings. This gave the impulse to the progress of 
the town, and it soon advanced rapidly in size and 
population. Then came the emigration from the 
Atlantic States of the Union, and the whole territory 
felt the progressive and enterprising spirit of the gold- 
seekers. The Americans generally took possession 
of the mines upon the northern tributaries of the 
Sacramento River ; but as their numbers increased 
they pushed towards the southern mines, and frequent 
collisions with the foreigners were the consequence. 
Finally, a great number of the latter were compelled 
fco leave the country. 



56 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA, 



CHAPTER VII. 

ADVENTURES OF SOME OF THE MINERS, AND INCIDENTS 
CONNECTED WITH MINING. 

The adventures of the eager gold-seekers in the 
region of their hopes, among the washings and the 
diggings of the placers, cannot but be interesting. 
The toil to which the men have to submit if they would 
obtain any thing like a satisfaction to their desires, is 
of a very irksome character. In the summer season, 
the heat is intense, and the principal part of the labor 
of washing and digging must be performed exposed to 
the full blaze of the sun. In the " dry diggings," 
the miners suffer greatly from the want of water. 
Most of the provisions having to be transported from 
the towns on the Sacramento and San Joaquin, soon 
grow unwholesome from exposure to the sultry air of 
the day and the damp air of the night. This diet, 
conjointly with the exposure of the miners, tends to 
produce intermittent fever and dysentery. The miners 
generally reside in huts of a rude construction, or in 
canvas tents, which afford but poor protection from 
the changes of the weather. 

The most prominent man in the neighborhood of 
the " diggins," is Captain Sutter, the Daniel Boone 
of that part of the country. He was formerly an 
officer in the Swiss guards of Charles X. of France. 
After the revolution of 1830, in that country, he came 
to the United States. Emigrating to California, he 
obtained a grant of land from the Mexican govern- 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 57 

merit, and founded the settlement known as Sutter's 
Fort. Upon his land, the first discovery of the rich 
ncss of the soil was made, and his house and the 
settlement around it has been, ever since, the resort 
of persons going to and from the placers, and a depot 
for provisions and articles used by the miners. Stores 
and workshops have been established, and a consider- 
able amount of business is transacted there. Captain 
Sutter is held in very great respect by the people of 
the settlement and those stopping at his house on the 
road to the placers. Several versions of the account 
of the discovery of the gold mines have been circu- 
lated, but the true one, in the Captain's own words, 
is given in a work recently published.* The account 
is here inserted, both on account of the interest con- 
nected with the discovery, and in order to correct 
wrong versions of the matter. 

"I was sitting one afternoon," said the Captain, 
"just after my siesta, engaged, by-the-bye, in writing 
a letter to a relation of mine at Lucerne, when I was 
interrupted by Mr. Marshall — a gentleman with whom 
I had frequent business transactions — bursting hur- 
riedly into the room. From the unusual agitation in 
his manner, I imagined that something serious had 
occurred, and, as we involuntarily do in this part of 
the world, I at once glanced to see if my rifle was in 
its proper place. You should know that the mere 
appearance of Mr. Marshall at that moment in the 
fort was quite enough to surprise me, as he had but 
two days before left the place to make some altera- 
tions in a mill for sawing pine planks, which he had 
just run up for me, some miles higher up the Ameri* 

♦ Foui Months Among the Gold Finders of California, by J. Tyr- 
Whit Books, M. D. 



68 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

canos. When he had recovered himself a little, he 
told me that, however great my surprise might be at 
his unexpected reappearance, it would be much greater 
when I heard the intelligence he had come to bring 
me. 'Intelligence,' he added, 'which, if properly 
profited by, would put both of us in possession of un- 
heard-of wealth — millions and millions <>f dollars, in 
fact.' I frankly own, when I heard this, that I thought 
something had touched Marshall's brain, when sud- 
denly all my misgivings were put an end to by his 
flinging on the table a handful of scales of pure virgin 
gold. I was fairly thunderstruck, and asked him to 
explain what ail this meant, when he went on to say, 
that, according to my instructions, he had thrown the 
mill-wheel out of gear, to let the whole body of the water 
in the dam find a passage through the tail-race, which 
was previously too narrow to allow the water to run 
off in sufficient quantity, whereby the wheel was pre- 
vented from efficiently performing its work. By this 
alteration the narrow channel was considerably en- 
larged, and a mass of sand and gravel carried off by 
the force of the torrent. Early in the morning after 
this took place, he (Mr. Marshall) was walking along 
the left bank of the stream, when he perceived some- 
thing which he at first took for a piece of opal — a 
clear transparent stone, very common here — glittering 
on one of the spots laid bare by the sudden crumbling 
away of the bank. He paid no attention to this ; but 
while he was giving directions to the workmen, having 
observed several similar glittering fragments, his 
curiosity was so far excited, that he stooped down and 
picked one of them up. 'Do you know,' said Mr. 
Marshall to me, ' I positively debated within myself 
two or three times whether I should take the trouble 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 59 

to bci\A my back to pick up one of the pieces, and had 
decided on not doing so, when, further on, another 
glittering morsel caught my eye — the largest of tho 
pieces now before you. I condescended to pick it up, 
and to my astonishment found that it was a thin scale 
of what appears to be pure gold.' He then gathered 
some twonty or thirty similar pieces, which on exami- 
nation convinced him that his suppositions were right. 
His first impression was, that this gold had been lost 
or buried there by some early Indian tribe — perhaps 
some of those mysterious inhabitants of the West, of 
whom we have no account, but who dwelt on this con- 
tinent centuries ago, and built those cities and tem- 
ples, the ruins of which are scattered about these 
solitary wilds. On proceeding, however, to examine 
the neighboring soil, he discovered that it was more or 
less auriferous. This at once decided him. He mounted 
his horse, and rode down to me as fast as it would 
carry him, with the news. 

" At the conclusion of Mr. Marshall's account," 
continued Captain Sutter, " and when I had convinced 
myself, from the specimens he had brought with him, 
that it was not exaggerated, I felt as much excited as 
himself. I eagerly inquired if he had shown the gold 
to the work people at the mill, and was glad to hear 
that he had not spoken to a single person about it. 
We agreed," said the Captain, smiling, " not to men- 
tion the circumstance to any one, and arranged to set 
off early the next day for the mill. On our arrival, 
just before sundown, we poked the sand about in 
various places, and before long succeeded in collecting 
between us, more than an ounce of gold, mixed up 
with a good deal of sand. I stayed at Mr. Marshall's 
that night, and the next day we proceeded some little 



00 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

distance up the South Fork, and found that gold 
existed along the whole course, not only in the bed of 
the main stream, where the water had subsided, but 
in every little dried-up creek and ravine. Indeed, I 
think it is more plentiful in these latter places, for I 
myself, with nothing more than a small knife, picked 
out from a dry gorge, a little way up the mountain, a 
solid lump of gold which weighed nearly an ounce and 
a half. 

" On our return to the mill, we were astonished by 
the work-people coming up to us in a body, and show- 
ing us small flakes of gold similar to those we had 
ourselves procured. Marshall tried to laugh the mat- 
ter off with them, and to persuade them that what they 
had found was only some shining mineral of trifling 
value ; but one of the Indians, who had worked at the 
gold mine in the neighborhood of La Paz, in Lower 
California, cried out, ' Oro ! oro \* We were disap- 
pointed enough at this discovery, and supposed that 
the work-people had been watching our movements, 
although we thought we had taken every precaution 
against being observed by them. I heard, afterwards, 
that one of them, a sly Kentuckian, had dogged us 
about, and that, looking on the ground to see if he 
could discover what we were in search of, he had 
lighted on some flakes of gold himself. 

" The next day I rode back to the Fort, organized 
a laboring party, set the carpenters to work on a few 
necessary matters, and the next day, accompanied 
them to a point of the Fork, where they encamped 
for the night. By the following morning I had a 
party of fifty Indians fairly at work. The way we 
first managed was to shovel the soil into small buckets, 
or into some of our famous Indian baskets ; then wash 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 61 

all t ho light earth out, and pick away the stones; 
lifter this, we dried the sand on pieces of canvas, and 
frith long reeds blew away all but the gold. I have 
now some rude machines in use, and upwards of one 
hundred men employed, chiefly Indians, who are well 
fed, and who are allowed whisky three times a day. 

" The report soon spread. Some of the gold w r as 
sent to San Francisco, and crow r ds of people flocked 
to the diggings. Added to this, a large emigrant 
party of Mormons entered California across the Rocky 
Mountains, just as the affair was first made known. 
They halted at once, and set to work on a spot some 
thirty miles from here, where a few of them still re- 
main. When I was last up to the diggings, there were 
full eight hundred men at work, at one place and 
another, with perhaps something like three hundred 
more passing backwards and forwards between here 
and the mines. I at first imagined that the gold 
would soon be exhausted by such crowds of seekers, 
but subsequent observations have convinced me that it 
will take many years to bring about such a result, 
even with ten times the present number of people 
employed. 

"What surprises me," continued the Captain, "is, 
that this country should have been visited by so many 
scientific men, and that not one of them should have 
ever stumbled upon the treasures ; that scores of 
keen eyed trappers should have crossed this valley in 
every direction, and tribes of Indians have dwelt in it 
for centuries, and yet that this gold should have never 
been discovered. I myself have passed the very spot 
above a hundred times during the last ten years, but 
was just as blind as the rest of them, so I must not 
wonder at tho discovery not having been made earlier." 

5 



62 HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 

The plan of operations adopted by most of the 
miners who were not Indians or Calif ornians, was to 
form bands of three, five or ten, under the command 
of one of the number, whose name the party took, and 
by which it was afterwards known. Some larger 
companies were formed in the United States, and 
repaired to California, and their operations were of 
course, on a more extensive scale ; they having all 
the necessary equipments of gold-washers and miners. 
Written rules were generally drawn up for the govern- 
ment of the parties, varying in particulars according 
to the peculiar views of the framers. These rules 
provided for the modus operandi of procuring the 
gold, supplying the party with necessaries, attending 
to the sick, and the division of the fruits of their labor. 

One of the most frequented placers of California is 
called the Stanislaus mine, situated near the Stanis- 
laus River. It was one of the first places worked to 
any extent by the gold-seekers, but not satisfying the 
expectations of some of the most greedy, it has since 
been partially abandoned. A description of this mine, 
and of the living and operations of its workers in the 
winter of 1848-49, will give a good general idea of the 
toils and privations endured by the early gold-seekers in 
that region, and, also, of their mode of procuring the 
precious metal at most of the mines. We extract 
from a recently published work, distinguished for 
minuteness of detail and accuracy of description.* 

" The mine was a deep ravine, embosomed amidst 
lofty hills, surmounted by, and covered with pine, and 
having, in the bottom itself, abundance of rock, mud, 
and sand. Halliday and I encamped at the very 

* Personal Adventures in Upper and Lower California, by William 
Redmond Ryan. 



niSTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 63 

lowest part of the ravine, at a little distance from D' a 
Emanuel's party ; a steep rock which towered above 
our heads affording us shelter, and a huge, flat stone 
beneath our feet promising a fair substitute for a dry 
bed. Here then we stretched our maclicers and 
blankets, and arranged our saddles and bags, so as to 
make ourselves as comfortable and warm as possible, 
although, in spite of our precautions and contrivances, 
and of a tolerably good fire, our encampment was 
bitterly cold, and we lay exposed to a heavy dew. 
We had given up our horses into the charge of the 
Indians, and I saw to their being safely placed in the 
cavallard, whilst Halliday went to chop wood ; a task 
I was too weak to perform. I cannot say we slept ; 
we might more correctly be said to have had a long 
and most uncomfortable doze, and when morning 
broke, we were shivering with cold, and shook the 
dew in a shower from our clothes. I consulted with 
my companion, and urged upon him the prudence of 
our setting to work to construct ourselves a sort of log 
cabin ; otherwise I felt certain, from the experience 
of the past night, our sojourn at the mines would be 
likely to prove fatal to one or both of us. He was, 
however, far too eager to try his fortune at digging 
to listen to my proposal, at which he even smiled, 
probably at the bare idea of weather, privation, or 
toil, being able to affect his powerful frame. I saw 
him presently depart up the ravine, shouldering a pick, 
and glancing now and then at his knife, whilst I pro- 
ceeded in search of materials for constructing a tem- 
porary place of shelter. 

" As my strength was unequal to the task of felling 
timber, I endeavored to procure four poles, intending 
to sink them into the ground, and to stretch on the 



64 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

top of them a bed-tick I had reserved for the purpose. 
The contrivance was a sorry one at the best, but 
shelter was indispensable; and great was my disap- 
pointment — though I procured the timber after a pain- 
ful search — to find that the rocks presented an insu- 
perable obstacle to my employing it as I intended. 
My efforts to sink the poles proved utterly futile, and 
I was at last compelled to renounce the attempt in 
despair. I then packed up our goods into as close a 
compass as possible ; and, having requested one of 
the Spaniards in Don Emanuel's party to keep watch 
over them, departed to explore the ravine. 

" Within a few paces of our encampment there was 
a large area of ground, probably half a mile square, 
the surface of which consisted of dark soil and slate, 
and was indented with innumerable holes of every 
possible dimension, from six inches to as many feet or 
more, wide and deep. In all of these lay abundance 
of water, of which large quantities are to be found a 
little beneath the surface, the ravine being supplied 
with it in great abundance by the rains that pour 
down from the hills during the wet season. To the 
extreme right of our camp, the ground assumed a 
more rocky character ; and, from the vast deposit of 
stagnant water, did not seem to offer many attractions 
to the miners. Yet there was scarcely a spot in any 
of these places where the crow-bar, the pick, or the 
jack-knife, had not been busy: evidence that the 
whole locality must have been extremely rich in the 
precious metal, or it would not have been so thoroughly 
worked. 

" In crossing the ravine, I was obliged to leap from 
one mound of earth to another, to avoid plunging 
ancle-deep in mud and water. It was wholly deserted 



IHSTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 65 

in this part, though formerly so much frequented; and, 
with tho exception of a few traders, who, having taken 
up their station here when times were good, had not 
yet made arrangements for removing to a more pro- 
ductive place, not a soul was to be seen. 

" I walked on until I reached the trading-post of 
Mr. Anderson, formerly our interpreter in the Lower 
Country, whom I felt delighted to meet with again. 
His shed was situated in one of the dampest parts of 
the mine, and consisted of a few upright poles, tra- 
versed by cross-pieces, and covered in with raw hides 
and leaves, but yet much exposed at the sides to the 
wind and the weather. He had a few barrels of flour 
and biscuit, which he retailed at two dollars a pound ; 
for he made no difference between the price of the 
raw and the prepared material. The flour would go 
further, it was true ; but then the biscuit required no 
cooking on the part of the miner, whose time was 
literally money, and whose interest therefore it was to 
economize it in every possible manner. He also sold 
unprepared coffee and sugar at six Yankee shillings a 
pound ; dried beef at one dollar and a half ; and 
pork, which was regarded as a great delicacy here, at 
two dollars for the same weight. The various articles 
of which his stock-in-trade consisted he had brought 
all the way from Monterey at considerable labor and 
expense ; but, by the exercise of extraordinary tact, 
perseverance, and industry, he had succeeded in esta- 
blishing a flourishing business. 

" I discovered, however, that he possessed another 
resource — by which his gains were marvellously in- 
creased — in the services of seven or eight Indians, 
whom he kept constantly at work, in the rear of his 
shed, digging gold, and whose labor he remunerated 

6* 



HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 

with provisions, and occasional presents of articles oi 
trifling value to him, but highly esteemed by the 
Indians. They were watched by an American over- 
seer, who was employed by him, to assist in the general 
business, particularly in slaughtering ; for, as beef 
was scarce, he used to send his man in quest of cows 
and oxen ; which he killed, cut up, salted and dried, 
in his shed, and watching the most favorable moment 
for the operation — namely, when meat could not be 
procured at the l diggins' — never failed to realize his 
own price for it. 

" Proceeding higher up the ravine, I observed a 
large tent erected on the slope of a hill, within a few 
yards of the bottom, where the gold is usually found. 
It was surrounded by a trench, the clay from which, 
as it was dug up, had apparently been thrown out 
against the canvas, forming a kind of embankment, 
rendering it at once water and weather-proof. I ven- 
tured into it, encountering on my way an immense 
piece of raw beef, suspended from the ridge-pole. 
Upon some stones in front, inclosing a small fire, stood 
a frying-pan, filled with rich looking beef collops, 
that set my mouth watering, and severely tested my 
honesty ; for, although acorns are all very well in 
their way, and serve to stay the cravings of the 
stomach for awhile, I did not find my appetite any the 
less sharp, notwithstanding the quantity I had eaten. 
But I resisted the temptation, and penetrated further 
into the tent. At one side of it lay a crow-bar, and 
an old saddle that had seen rough service ; yet not a 
soul appeared, and my eyes were again ogling the 
collops, whilst an inward voice whispered how impru- 
dent it was to leave them frizzling there, when, all at 
once, a Tittle man, in a ' hickory shirt,' with his face 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 67 

all bedaubed with pot-black and grease, darted out of 
Borne dark corner, flourishing in one hand a long bowie 
knife, and in the other three by no means delicate 
slices of fat pork, which he at once dropped into the 
frying-pan, stooping down on one knee, and becoming 
immediately absorbed in watching the interesting 
culinary process then going on in it. 

" I came up next with a group of three Sonomeans, 
or inhabitants of Sonoma, busily engaged on a small 
sandy flat — the only one I had observed — at the bot- 
tom of the ravine. There was no water near, although 
I noticed several holes which had evidently been sunk 
in quest of it. These men were actively pursuing a 
process that is termed ' dry-washing.' One was 
shovelling up the sand into a large cloth, stretched 
out upon the ground, and which, when it was tolerably 
well covered, he took up by the corners, and shook 
until the pebbles and larger particles of stone and dirt 
came to the surface. These he brushed away care- 
fully with his hand, repeating the process of shaking 
and clearing until the residue was sufficiently fine for 
the next operation. This was performed by the other 
men, who, depositing the sand in large bowls hewn 
out of a solid block of wood, which they held in their 
hands, dexterously cast the contents up before them, 
about four feet into the air, catching the sand again 
very cleverly, and blowing at it as it descended. This 
process being repeated, the sand gradually disap- 
peared, and from two to three ounces of pure gold 
remained at the bottom of the bowl. Easy as the 
operation appeared to me to be, I learned, upon in- 
quiry, that to perform it successfully required the 
nicest management, the greatest perseverance, and 
especially robust lungs. The men I saw had lighted 



68 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

upon a productive sand ; but very often, indeed, those 
who adopt this mode of gold washing toil long at bar- 
ren soil before they discover the uselessness of labor- 
ing thus arduously. 

" I noticed, that although the largest proportion of 
the gold obtained in this manner presented the appear- 
ance of a fine powder, it was interspersed, here and 
there, with large scales of the precious deposit, and 
with a few solid lumps. The metal w T as of a dingy 
hue, and, at a cursory view, might easily have been 
mistaken for particles of yellow clay, or laminae of 
stone of the same color. The Sonomeans placed the 
product of their labor in buckskin bags, which were 
hung around their necks, and carefully concealed 
inside of their shirts. They work in this fashion at 
the mines in their own country ; but I doubt if any 
other than a native constitution could very long bear 
up against the peculiar labor of ' dry-washing' in such 
a climate and under such difficult circumstances. 1 
felt half tempted to try the process myself, for the 
surface of this sandy bed was literally sparkling with 
innumerable particles of the finest gold, triturated to 
a polish by the running of the waters — as I conjec- 
tured ; but I soon discovered how fruitless my efforts 
would be. Had I possessed any chemical agents at 
hand, however, I might soon have exhausted the bed 
of its precious contents, and should, doubtless, have 
realized an immense weight of the metal of the very 
purest quality. 

" I may as well mention here, that of the various 
new machines manufactured and sent out to Califor- 
nia for the purpose of digging and washing gold, the 
great majority have been found quite useless. There 
are two or three of them, however, that have been 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 69 

employed with great success. I have made a sketch 
of those most in use amongst the diggers, as my 
readers may feel desirous of acquainting themselves 
with the latest improvements introduced in the art of 
mining, as practised in this country. They consist, 
in the first place, of the washing-rocker, or 'cradle,' 
which has, in numerous instances, formed the model 
for ruder machines, constructed by the miners them- 
selves, whilst in the mountains. The lid, at the bottom 
of which lie the holes through which the gold and soil 
pass, is fastened by hinges at the back, in order that 
it may be raised up, the more readily to throw off, 
from time to time, the stones that accumulate. Three 
men are required to work this rocker with success, 
and there are few processes in which a smaller num- 
ber could operate without extraordinary labor. One 
person throws the soil upon the lid, another pours on 
the water, whilst a third is engaged in rocking the 
cradle by the handle attached to it for the purpose. 
In this way these men keep each other constantly 
employed ; and, indeed, this cradle, like its prototype, 
has often proved the bond of union between individuals 
who would otherwise have separated, for this simple 
reason, that one man could not work it half so profit- 
ably alone. The cross pieces, observable at the bot- 
tom, serve to intercept the gold as it flows towards 
the smaller end of the machine, whilst the dirt is 
carried off by the admixture with the water produced 
by the continual ' rocking.' As the earth becomes 
thoroughly dissolved, the gold naturally gravitates to 
the bottom ; and thus it is impossible for any but the 
very finest particles of the ore to escape. 

" The second machine, in importance, is the gold- 
borer. It is particularly useful in examining the 



70 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

bottom of streams, and consists of a short conical 
cylinder at the end of a long handle, containing inside, 
at its lower extremity, a valve, arranged so as to 
admit the earth and gold, and prevent their escaping 
when the receptacle is full. This instrument is used 
in the same manner as an augur. The third machine, 
the pan, is also of late introduction, but has been 
found rather too deep for the purpose for which it is 
intended. 

"Notwithstanding the success which seemed to 
attend the labors of the Sonomeans, I subsequently 
discovered that the entire quanity of gold thus painfully 
obtained, disappeared at the gambling-stalls. They 
were generally clad most wretchedly, many of them 
wearing nothing more than a dirty shirt, a pair of 
light pantaloons, and the wide sombrero peculiar to the 
inhabitants of this country and Mexico. Some few 
sported a serajia, but they were men of superior native* 
rank, of which this garment is a distinctive character- 
istic. 

" Continuing my route up the ravine, I met a man 
named Corrigan, galloping along with two fine horses, 
one of which he was leading. He stopped as soon as 
he recognized me, and we were soon engaged in a very 
interesting conversation respecting the doings at the 
'diggins.' The substance of his information was, that 
he had made a great deal of money at the mines by 
digging, but infinitely more by speculation. He thought 
of buying a ranchS, marrying, and settling down. He 
was then going to seek for pasture for his horses ; 
and, bidding me a hasty good-bye, galloped off, and 
soon disappeared. 

" As I advanced, the ground became drier and more 
sandy, rock and slate of various kinds abounding; 



, 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 71 

some quite soft and friable, yielding readily tc the 
pickaxe or the crowbar ; and, in other places, so hard 
as to resist the utmost strength of the miners. Several 
of the diggers were perseveringly exploring the locali- 
ties where the rotten sorts of slate were found in the 
largest quantities, and I saw them pick out a good 
deal of gold with their jack-knives. Their principal 
aim was to discover what they termed 'a pocket,' 
which is nothing more than a crevice between the 
blocks of slate, into which a deposit of gold has been 
washed by the heavy rains from the higher districts, 
and which, soon accumulating, swell into rapid tor- 
rents, which rush down these ravines with extraor- 
dinary swiftness and force, sweeping every thing 
before them. 

" There did not appear to be many mining parties 
at the Stanislaus at this particular period, for the 
encampments were generally from two to five miles 
apart, the space between them increasing the higher 
you advanced towards the mountains, to the foot of 
which the ravine extended — altogether, a distance of 
many miles. The lower part of the mine, I concluded 
from this fact, to be by far the richer, simply from 
the circumstance I have mentioned ; richer, compara- 
tively, because here the deposits of gold are more 
easily found and extracted ; not richer, in reality, as 
the metal must exist in immense quantities in the 
upper regions, from which it is washed down by the 
rains and floods into the lower districts. The virgin 
deposit would, doubtless, be difficult to come at ; but, 
if sought after at all, that it is to be sought in the 
mountains and high lands, I feel persuaded. 

" I turned back, after prosecuting my excursion 
until the ravine became almost too rocky to allow me 
D* 6 



72 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

to proceed, and until I saw that the 6 diggins' dimi * • 
ished materially in number. On clambering the hills 
at the side, I beheld abundance of pines, oak, cedar, 
and palm ; but no grass, nor vegetation of any other 
kind, save prickly shrubs, with here and there a patch 
of extremely dry moss. On my way back, I passed 
several tents and huts erected by the miners, all of 
the very poorest and most wretched description. 

" I found Van Anker's party at dinner, in front of 
their tent. Van showed me a leathern bag, contain- 
ing several pounds' weight of very pure gold, and 
which was carelessly tossed about from one to the 
other for examination. It was the produce of his 
morning's work, he having fortunately struck upon a 
large pocket. 

" On inquiring whether, as there existed such strong 
temptation, robberies were not very frequent, I was 
informed, that, although thefts had occurred, yet, 
generally speaking, the miners dwelt in no distrust of 
one another, and left thousands of dollars' worth in 
gold dust in their tents whilst they were absent dig- 
ging. They all felt, intuitively, that honesty was 
literally the best policy, and a determination to punish 
robbery seemed to have been come to by all as a 
measure essential to the security and welfare of the 
mining community, independent of any question of 
principle. 

" Gambling and drinking were carried on, I found, 
to a most demoralizing extent. Brandy and cham- 
pagne, whenever they were brought to the ' diggins/ 
realized enormous prices, varying from sixteen to 
twenty dollars a bottle ; and some of the men wouldj, 
after accumulating some hundred dollars, squander th'e 
whole in purchasing these beverages. Believing th .9 



HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 73 

supply of gold to be inexhaustible, tbey persisted in 
tli is reckless course, and discovered only when it be- 
came too late to redeem their error, that even hero 
gold cannot always be procured. They went on until 
the placers failed to yield, and were then reduced to 
great extremities. 

" The miners were by no means averse to lending 
6 dust' to those who required it, notwithstanding that 
the lenders often experienced some difficulty in getting 
back the advance. One of Van's party, for instance, 
lent another six ounces of gold, which not being 
returned at the stipulated period, nor for some time 
afterwards, he dunned his debtor at every meal, until 
the latter, who had quietly submitted to the importu- 
nity, begged him to * just wait ten minutes, and time 
it.' He shouldered his pickaxe, as he said this, and 
going out of the shed, returned within the time, bring- 
ing back more than sufficient to liquidate the debt. 
This little incident created much amusement." 

The whole of the gold region lies between the San 
Joachin and Sacramento Rivers and the California 
range of mountains. The principal mines are the 
Towalloinie, the Stanislaus, the Macalamo, the Merced, 
Fremont's Diggings, or Mariposa, the Calaveras, the 
Macassime, the South, Middle, and North Forks, 
Bear Creek, Yuba, Feather River, and the Sacra- 
mento. The mines are nothing more than so many 
ravines, which run across from the range of mountains, 
and are flooded by the torrents which pour down from 
the upper region during the rainy season, and which 
have been supposed to bring the gold down with them. 

The Macalamo Dry Diggings is considered one of 
the richest placers in the gold region. It is a long 
ravine, the soil of which is red, and sometimes blueish 



74 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

in places, sand predominating. The blue clay is 
thought to be the richest by the diggers. The sides 
of the ravine are so steep and irregular, that the miners 
are troubled to find resting places of a night. The 
gold taken out of this mine runs large ; the average 
size of the lumps being that of a pea. Pieces have 
been taken out of it that weighed above two pounds. 

Instances of robbery and murder have not been few in 
the gold region, as might be conjectured from a know- 
ledge of the motley character of the miners, and the 
temptations offered to avaricious spirits. Yet, all 
things considered, the number of instances will not 
appear so very extraordinary. Lynch law, the only 
resort of the wronged in pocket, or the friends of the 
murdered, exercised its terrible power, and tended to 
prevent the crimes that would, otherwise, have been 
frequent. An instance of this summary justice we 
here relate, to illustrate the means by which the miners 
protected their lives and property. 

"A sailor, a deserter from the Ohio, took it into 
his head, one night, to rob one of the volunteers, who 
had set up a drinking store. He had already got two 
bags, containing about five thousand dollars' worth of 
gold ; but, not satisfied with them, grasped at a third, 
half full of dollars in silver. The jingling of the coin 
awoke the owner, who, springing up, gave the alarm, 
and, after a hot pursuit, the thief was captured, and 
bound to a tree until morning. At about nine, a jury 
of twelve miners sat to consider the case, a volunteer 
named Nutman officiating for Judge Lynch. Of 
course, he was found guilty, and sentenced to be 
hanged; but, some opposition being raised to depriving 
him of life, and a milder punishment suggested ; it was 
finally determined that he should receive a hundred 



IIISTOIIY OF CALIFORNIA. 75 

lashes on Lis bare back, have his cars cut off and his 
head shaved, so that he might be every where recog 
nized in the mining districts. This sentence gave 
general satisfaction. The poor wretch was at once 
fastened by his hands to the branch of a tree, and the 
fellows proceeded to shave his head, whilst some 
sailors of the party set to work manufacturing cats. 
Ilis feet were then tied together to the foot of the tree, 
and when his head had been shaved, a doctor lopped 
off his ears. He bled a good deal; but, when the 
blood was staunched, they set to flogging him, and 
they didn't spare him either. After this, they kicked 
him out. 

" "Well, he went off, and when he was about half a 
mile away, stole a mule, and rode over to the ' Cala- 
veras' diggins, where the animal was claimed by the 
owner. He was thereupon tried for mule-stealing, 
and sentenced to receive another flogging ; but when 
the miners came to strip him, they found his back so 
shockingly cut up, that they took compassion on him, 
and contented themselves with driving him out of the 
district, where he never appeared again." 

During the summer season, when exposure and 
labor in the mines, together with unwholesome food, 
produce a great prevalence of fever and dysentery, 
the native Californiaii3 make use of a singular remedy. 
It is called the temascal ; being a sort of hot air bath, 
shaped something like a sentry-box. It is built of 
wicker-work, and afterwards plastered with mud until 
it becomes air tight. The mode of application of this 
remedy is as follows : — A large fire is built close up 
to the door of the structure — a narrow aperture, just 
large enough for a man to squeeze through. This is 
allowed to bum itself out, having while burning, 



7S HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

heated to a very high degree the air in the interior? 
of the box. Into this the patient screws himself, and, 
there remains until a profuse perspiration is produced^ 
which is checked suddenly by a plunge into the chilly 
waters <^f the river. This is of the nature of a Thomp- j 
sonian remedy. 

The absorbing interest with which the gold-seekers 
proceed in their work is admirably depicted by one 
of the adventurers, in a book published after his 
return.* 

" Arriving on the bar, the scene presented to ua 
was new indeed, and not more extraordinary than 
impressive. Some with long-handled shovels, delved 
among clumps of bushes, or by the side of larg£ rocks, 
never raising their eyes for an instant ; others with 
pick and shovel worked among stone and gravel, or 
with trowels searched under banks and roots of trees, 
where, if rewarded with small lumps of gold, the eye 
shone brighter for an instant, when the search was 
immediately and more ardently resumed. At the I 
edge of the stream, or knee deep and waist deep in | 
water, as cold as melted ice and snow could make it, I 
some were washing gold with tin pans or the common 
cradle rocker, while the rays of the sun were pouring | 
down on their heads, with an intensity exceeding any ' 
thing we ever experienced at home, though it was but 
the middle of April. 

" The thirst for gold and the labor of acquisition j 
overruled all else, and totally absorbed every faculty. J 
Complete silence reigned among the miners ; they 1 
addressed not a word to each other, and seemed averse 
to all conversation. All the sympathies of common 



* Sights m the Gold Region, o - Scenes hy the Way, by Theodore, 
T. Johnson. 



<• 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 77 

numanity, all the finer and noble attributes of our 
nature seemed lost, buried beneath the soil they were 
eagerly delving, or swept away with the rushing waters 
that revealed the shining treasure." 

This extract is suggestive of considerable reflection. 
The same amount of attention given to any pursuit 
must produce results equally as satisfactory as that 
given to gold-seeking. But gold carries with it such 
obvious enjoyments to the grosser minds, that the 
pursuit of it alone can attract their attention sufficiently 
to effect any thing considerable. Could the pure 
enjoyments connected with the practice of virtue be 
made as obvious to all minds, the result would be 
something at which the philanthropist might rejoice. 

The extremes of heat and cold, during the summer, 
m the valleys and canons of the gold, region, are very 
remarkable. From nine o'clock in the morning till 
five in the afternoon, the heat is almost intolerable. 
The sun's rays pour down through an atmosphere 
clear and dry, and their power is increased by reflec- 
tion from the sides of the canons and mountains, and 
from the surface of the streams. During the night, 
the air beeomes so cold as to render blankets very 
serviceable. This is caused by the waters of the different 
streams rising during the night, their volume being 
increased by the melting of the snows of the Sierra 
Nevada, by the heat of the previous day. 

Thousands of Indians, belonging to the Snake, 
Shoshonee, and Crow tribes, are at work at the mines. 
They are generally employed by some of the wealthy 
white men, and are paid in provisions and a sort of 
liquor made from California grapes, called pisco. 
What money or gold they get for themselves is spent 
in gambling — a vice to which they are most excessively 



78 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

addicted. Instances are not few of their having 
staked the produce of their labor during some weeks 
subsequent to the game. Many of the Indians desire 
no other pay than as much pisco as they can drink, 
with a little acorn bread. 

The native Californians form a goodly proportion 
of the gold-seekers. Many of the men are accom- 
panied by their wives, who are attended by Indian 
girls. The graceful Spanish costume of the Califor- 
nians adds quite a feature to the busy scene at the 
mines. There may be seen the long, lank forms of 
the Yankees, with their wide white trousers and straw 
hats ; the half-naked Indians ; the native born Cali- 
fornians, with their dusky visages and lustrous black 
eyes. The latter are generally clad in a short, tight 
jacket, with lace trimming, and velvet breeches, with 
a silk sash fastened round the waist. With regard to 
the appearance of the women, and, also, for the sake 
of the description of one of the evening entertainments 
in the gold region, we quote from a recent tourist, to 
whom we have been indebted before.* 

" The appearance of the women is graceful and 
coquettish. Their petticoats, short enough to display 
in most instances a well-turned ankle, are richly 
laced and embroidered, and striped and flounced with 
gaudy colors, of which scarlet seem3 to have the prefer- 
ence. Their tresses hang in luxuriant plaits down 
their backs ; and in all the little accessories of dress, 
such as earrings, necklaces, &c, the costume is very 
rich. Its distinguishing feature, however, is the 
reboso, a sort of scarf, generally made of cotton, 
which answers to the mantilla of Old Spain. It is 

* Four Months Among the Gold Finders of California, by J. Tyr 
whit Urooks, M. D. 



HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 79 

worn in many different and graceful fashions — some- 
times twined round the waist and shoulders ; at others, 
hanging in pretty festoons about the figure, but always 
disposed with that indescribable degree of coquettish 
grjce which Spanish women have been for ages 
allowed to possess in the management of the fan and 
the mantilla. Since these arrivals, almost every 
evening a fandango is got up on the green, before 
some of the tents. The term fandango, though origin- 
ally signifying a peculiar kind of dance, seemed to be 
used here for an evening's dancing entertainment, in 
which many differential are introduced. I was pre- 
sent at a fandango a few nights ago, when a couple 
of performers were dancing ' el jarabe,' which seemed 
to consist chiefly of a series of monotonous toe and 
heel movements on the ground. The motions of the 
foot were, however, wonderfully rapid, and always in 
exact time to the music. But at these entertainments 
the waltz seems to be the standing dish. It is danced 
with numerous very intricate figures, to which however, 
all the Californians appear quite an fait. Men and 
women alike waltz beautifully, with an easy, graceful 
swinging motion. 

" It is quite a treat, after a hard day's work, 
to go at nightfall to one of these fandangos. The 
merry notes of the guitar and the violin announce 
them to all comers ; and a motley enough looking 
crowd, every member of which is puffing away 
at a cigar, forms an applauding circle around the 
dancers, who smoke like all the rest. One cannot 
help being struck by the picturesque costume and 
graceful movements of the performers, who appear to 
dance not only with their legs, but with all their hearts 
and souls. During the interval between the dances, 



80 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

coffee is consumed by the senoras, and the coffee with 
something stronger by the senors ; so that, as the 
night advances, the merriment gets, if not c fast and 
furious,' at least animated and imposing." 

The dangers which the adventurers are subjected to 
encounter are often increased by the hostility of the 
Indians. These, however, only molest those who are 
daring enough to frequent the outskirts of -the gold 
region. There the Indians are treacherous, and will 
attack small parties, even after smoking the pipe of 
peace with them. Their principal weapons are bows 
and arrows ; for though many of them have guns in 
their possession, the scarcity of ammunition prevents 
them from using them to any purpose. The following 
description of an encounter with them by a small party, 
encamped in the valley of the Bear River, then seldom 
frequented by white men, will give an idea of their 
mode of attack : 

" We were just on the point of returning to the 
camp to dinner, when Bowling, who was standing near 
some sage bushes at the upper part of the ravine, 
heard a rustling among them, and on moving in the 
direction of the noise saw an Indian stealthily creeping 
along, who, as soon as he perceived he was discovered, 
discharged an arrow, which just missed its mark, but 
lacerated, and that rather severely, Bowling's ear. 
The savage immediately set up a most terrific whoop, 
and ran off, but tumbled before he could draw another 
arrow from his quiver, while Bowling, rushing for- 
ward, buried his mattock in the head of his fallen foe, 
killing him instantaneously. 

" At this moment we heard the crack of a rifle in 
the direction of the camp, which, with the Indian's 
whoop at the same moment, completely bewildered us. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 81 

Every man, however, seized his rifle, and Dowling, 
hastening towards us, told us of what had just occurred. 
All was still for the next few moments, and I mounted 
a little hill to reconnoitre. Suddenly I saw a troop of 
Indians, the foremost of them on horseback, approach- 
ing at full speed. I hastily returned to my companions, 
and we sought shelter in a little dell, determined to 
await there, and resist the attack, for it was evident 
that the savages' intentions were any thing but pacific. 
" It was a moment of breathless excitement. AYe 
heard the tramp, tramp of the horses coming on 
towards us, but as yet, they and their riders were 
concealed from our view. I confess I trembled vio- 
lently, not exactly with fear, although I expected that 
a few moments would see us all scalped by our savage 
assailants. It was the suddenness of the danger which 
startled me, and made my heart throb violently ; but 
at that moment, just as I was reproaching myself with 
the want of courage, a terrific yell rung through the 
air at a short distance from us, and forty or fifty war- 
like Indians appeared in sight. My whole frame was 
nerved in an instant, and when a shower of arrows 
flew amongst us, I was the first man to answer it with 
a rifle-shot, which brought one of the foremost Indians 
off his horse to the ground. I instantly reloaded, but 
in the mean while the rifles of my companions had been 
doing good service. We had taken up our position 
behind a row of willow trees which skirted the banks 
of a narrow stream, and here we were protected in a 
great measure from the arrows of our assailants, which 
were in most cases turned aside by the branches. A 
second volley of rifle-shots soon followed the first ; 
and while we were reloading, and the smoke had 
slightly cleared away, I could see that we had spread 



82 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

consternation in the ranks of the Indian warriors, and 
that they were gathering up their wounded prepara- 
tory to retiring. I had my eye on an old man, who 
had just leaped from his horse. My finger was on 
the trigger, when I saw him coolly advance, and, 
taking one of his wounded companions, who had been 
shot through the leg, in -his arms, place him on a 
horse, then mounting his own, and catching hold of 
the other animal's bridle, gallop off at full speed. 
Although I knew full well that if the fortune of the 
day had gone against us, these savages would not 
have spared a single man of our party, still I could 
not find it in my heart to fire on the old chief, and he 
carried off his wounded comrade in safety. 

"In a few minutes the hill-sides were clear, and 
when we emerged from our shelter, all that was visible 
of the troop of warriors was three of them weltering 
in their blood, a bow or two, and some empty quivers, 
and a few scattered feathers and tomahawks, lying on 
the ground." 

The grizzly bear is also one of the terrors encoun- 
tered by the gold-seekers. This animal grows to the 
size of four feet in height and six in length. It is one 
of the most ferocious animals of North America. 
Mules and cattlo of various kinds, and even men, are 
attacked by it, and its great strength generally enables 
it to come off with its prey. Great quickness and 
courage are absolute essentials of those who hunt these 
animals, or encounter them accidentally. An adven- 
ture of two or three gold-seekers, on their road to the 
mines, accidentally meeting with a grizzly bear, is 
thus shortly detailed in the journal of a returned 
adventurer.* 

♦ Six Months in the Gold Mines, by E. Gould BulTum 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 83 

" About half way from the ranclieria a loud bray- 
ing, followed by a fierce growl, attracted our attention, 
and in a few moments a frightened mule, closely pur- 
sued by an enormous grizzly bear, descended the 
hill-side within forty yards of where we stood leaning 
on our rifles. As the bear reached the road, Higgins-, 
with his usual quickness and intrepidity, fired, and an 
unearthly yell from the now infuriated animal told 
with what effect. The mule in the interval had crossed 
the road, and was now scampering away over the 
plains, and Bruin, finding himself robbed of his prey, 
turned upon us. I levelled my rifle and gave him the 
contents with hearty good will, but the wounds he had 
received only served to exasperate the monster, who 
now made towards us with rapid strides. Deeming 
prudence the better part of valor, we ran with all con- 
venient speed in the direction of the camp, within a 
hundred yards of which my foot became entangled in 
the underbrush, and I fell headlong upon the earth. 
In another instant I should have fallen a victim to 
Did Bruin's rage, but a well-directed ball from my 
companion's rifle entered his brain and arrested his 
career. The whole party now came to our assistance 
and soon despatched Mr. Grizzly. Dragging him to 
camp, we made a hearty supper from his fat ribs, and, 
as I had probably been the more frightened of the 
two, I claimed as an indemnity his skin, which pro- 
tected me afterward from the damp ground many a 
cold night. He was a monstrous fellow, measuring 
nearly four feet in height, and six in length, and a 
stroke from his huge paw would, had he caught us, 
have entirely dissipated the golden dreams of Higgins 
and myself." 

The same writer gives quite a graphic description 



84 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

of an attack of the scourge of the miners, the disease 
called scurvy. He says : 

" I was again dreaming of fortune and success, when 
my hopes were blasted by an attack of a terrible 
scourge that wrought destruction through the northern 
mines during the winter of 1848. I allude to the land 
scurvy. The exposed and unaccustomed life of two- 
thirds of the miners, and their entire subsistence upon 
salt meat, without any mixture of vegetable matter, 
had produced this disease, which was experienced more 
or less by one-half of the miners within my knowledge. 
Its symptoms and progress may not be uninteresting. 
It was first noticed in the 'Dry Diggings,' where, 
about the middle of February, many persons were 
rendered unable to walk by swellings of the lower 
limbs, and severe pains in them. It was at first sup- 
posed to be rheumatism, and was treated as such. 
But it withstood the most powerful applications used 
in that complaint, and was finally decided to be scurvy. 
So long as the circumstances which caused it continued, 
the disease made rapid progress. Many, who could 
obtain no vegetables, or vegetable acids, lingered out 
a miserable existence and died, — while others, fortu- 
nate enough to reach the settlements, where potatoes 
and acids could be procured, recovered. I noticed its 
first attack upon myself by swelling and bleeding of 
the gums, which was followed by a swelling of both 
legs below the knee, which rendered me unable to 
walk ; and for three weeks I was laid up in my tent, 
obliged to feed upon the very articles that had caused 
the disease, and growing daily weaker, without any 
reasonable prospect of relief. There were, at that 
time, about eight hundred persons at work on the river, 
and hoping to get some medicine, I despatched one of 



niSTCRY OF CALIFORNIA. 85 

my companions one morning, with instructions to 
procure me, if possible, a dose of salts, and to pay for 
it any price that should be asked. He returned at 
night with the consoling news that he had failed, 
having found only two persons who had brought the 
article with them, and they refused to sell it at any price. 
"I was almost in despair; with only a blanket be- 
tween myself and the damp, cold earth, and a thin 
canvas to protect me from the burning sun by day, 
and the heavy dews by night, I lay day after day 
enduring the most intense suffering from pain in my 
limbs, which were now becoming more swollen, and 
were turning completely black. Above me rose those 
formidable hills which I must ascend ere I could 
obtain relief. I believe I should have died, had not 
accident discovered the best remedy that could have 
been produced. In the second week of my illness, 
one of our party, in descending the hill on which he 
had been deer hunting, found near its base, and strewn 
along the foot-track, a quantity of beans which sprouted 
from the ground, and were in leaf. Some one, in 
descending the hill with a bag of them on his back, 
had probably dropped them. My companion gathered 
a quantity and brought them into camp. I had them 
boiled, and lived entirely on them for several days, at 
the same time using a decoction of the bark of the 
spruce tree. These seemed to operate magically; and 
in a week after commencing the use of them, I found 
myself able to walk, — and as soon as my strength was 
partially restored, I ascended the hill, and with two 
companions walked into Culoma ; and by living prin- 
cipally upon a vegetable diet, which I procured by 
paying three dollars per pound for potatoes, in a very 
whort time I recovered." 

E 7 



8Q HISTORY DF CALIFORNIA. 

Thus life in the gold region is made up of variety 
and contrast. Sometimes the diggers and washers 
pass weeks busily engaged at their toilsome occupation, 
without the monotony of the time and scene being 
disturbed. Again, adventures and exciting incidents 
will be plentiful and various. At one time, pleasant 
weather and fandangos offer easy enjoyment ; at 
another, extremes of weather, hard work, and bad 
food render the life of the miner almost intolerable. 
Frequently, the gold-seeker chances to meet spots 
that yield ample reward for his toil; and often he 
works beneath the fierce rays of a broiling sun, while 
his legs are in chilly water, and his day's toil scarce 
yields more than enough to pay for his living. The 
trading-posts, situated at and near the mines, do a far 
more certain and an equally profitable business. They 
are generally the establishments of shrewd, speculat- 
ing Yankees, who know what sort of labor is requisite 
to make a gold-seeker successful, and prefer to trust 
to the profits of bargaining in provisions and mining 
necessaries for gold. 

That the country is pregnant with an enormous 
quantity of the precious metal is unquestionable. But 
that severe and weakening labor, together with tough 
constitutions, are indispensable requisites for pro- 
curing it, scarcely admits of a doubt. Very few spend 
any considerable time in working at the " diggings," 
who do not suffer from exposure, and lose a portion 
of their constitutional stability. So far, all attempts 
at the construction of machines for washing the gold 
from the sand, have been of little avail. Machines 
have been invented and carried out to the gold region 
by some of the numerous companies, which, upon 
trial, have soon been abandoned for the "cradle," a- 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 8« 

common wash pan ; but still, the field for invention ^a 
open, and the labor now necessary for procuring the 
gold is susceptible of considerable diminution. Of 
course, the means of transporting provisions and other 
necessaries to the mines are constantly improving, as 
the country is becoming settled ; and thus, one great 
source of privation and disease is rapidly diminishing. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

DESCRIPTION OF SOME OF THE CITIES AND TOWNS OF 
CALIFORNIA, BEFORE AND AFTER THE DISCOVERY OF 
TnE GOLD MINES. 

At the time of the discovery of the existence of 
gold in the region of the Sacramento, San Francisco 
was a very inconsiderable town. As soon as the news 
of the discovery was spread among its inhabitants, it 
became almost deserted. Indeed, at one time, there 
was only seven male inhabitants left in the town. The 
site of the present city of San Francisco was not then 
occupied by more than fifty houses in all. These 
were occupied by a few foreign merchants and some 
native Californians. The houses were rudely con- 
structed, the principal materials being adobe's, or un- 
burnt bricks. They were generally one story high, 
and most of them were erected near the beach ; while at 
the rear of the "town," was a sandy plain terminated 
by a range of hills. But as soon as the news of the 
gold discovery reached the United States, and other 
countries, companies for mining purposes were imrne* 



88 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

diately formed, and emigrants soon crowded every 
route to the " Land of Promise." Then San Francisco 
began to be the great receptacle of the emigrants and 
the merchandise of various kinds necessary for their 
maintenance. The following is a very complete pic- 
ture of the city after the spreading of the gold news, 
and the flood of emigration had commenced. 

" Numberless vessels, mostly from the United States, 
filled the bay, in front of San Francisco, many of them 
being deserted by their crews, and unable to procure 
others to take their places. On landing, I had to 
clamber up a steep hill, on the top of which, and 
opposite to where I stood, was a large wooden house, 
two stories high, and scarcely half finished. In the 
rear of this, rose another and a steeper hill, whose 
slopes were covered with a multiplicity of tents. To 
my right, ran a sort of steep, or precipice, defended 
by sundry pieces of cannon, which commanded the 
entrance to the harbor. I next came to the ' Point,' 
and, crossing it, found myself within the town. 

" The first objects that attracted my notice were 
several canvas houses, measuring from ten to forty 
feet square, some being grog-shops, others eating 
establishments, and the larger set apart as warehouses, 
or places of storage. The proprietors of the latter 
were making enormous sums by the accommodation 
their tents afforded to the hundreds of travellers who 
were arriving every day from different parts, and who, 
being extremely embarrassed as to what they should 
do with their luggage, were heartily glad to find any 
safe place to store it in, and content to pay for the 
convenience. 

" The spectacle which the beach presented from a 
convenient opening, whence I could comprise the 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 89 

whole at a glance, was singularly interesting and 
curious. A crowd of individuals, in motley garb, and 
of every variety of race, might be seen pressing eagerly 
upward towards the town, jostling and pushing one 
another,'in their anxiety to be first, yet looking eagerly 
about them, as if to familiarize themselves at once 
with the country of their adoption. Here were dandies 
from the United States and from France, picking their 
steps mincingly, as they strove to keep pace with the 
sturdy fellows who carried their luggage ; their beaver 
hats, fashionable frock-coats, irreproachable and well- 
strapped pantaloons, exciting the derisive remarks of 
the spectators, the majority of them ' old Californians,' 
whose rough labor at the ' diggins' had taught them 
to estimate such niaiseries at their proper value. By 
their side stalked the stately and dignified Spaniard, 
covered with his broad-brimmed, low-crowned sombrero, 
and gracefully enveloped in his ample serapa, set off 
by a bright scarlet sash. He turns neither to the 
right nor to the left, nor heeds the crowd about him, 
but keeps on the even tenor of his way — though even 
he has occasionally to jump for it — presenting, in his 
demeanor and costume, a striking contrast to the 
more bustling activity of the Yankees, who are elbow- 
ing every one, in their anxiety to go a-head. A lot 
of shopboys, too — mere lads, as spruce and neatly 
attired as though they had just stepped out of some 
fashionable emporium, mingle with the rest, and, as 
they enter the town, strike up the popular parody — 

1 Oh, California. That's the land for me I 
I'm bound for the Sacramento, with 
The wash-bowl on my knee. 7 

And presently, their brother-adventurers, excited 



00 HISTOEY OF CALIFORNIA, 

by hopes of the wildest kind, join vociferously in 
chorus, in the exuberance of their joy. 

"A group of Englishmen, muscular in form, and 
honest in feature, are chaffering with the keen-witted 
Yankee porters for the carriage of their luggage. 
There is an air of dogged resolution about them, that 
plainly indicates they will not 'submit to what they 
evidently consider an imposition. Such a sum for so 
slender a service ! Well, then, they can carry their 
baggage themselves : so they will ; and, quickly 
shouldering it, some depart in the track of the rest, 
whilst two or three remain behind, to watch what is 
left, until their friends return. They are manifestly 
well known to one another, and seem to be almost 
intimate ; the voyage has made them friends. 

" Here come a number of Chilians and Peruvians, 
and a goodly number of natives from the Sandwich 
Islands. A couple of Irishmen, too ! I know them 
by their vivacity, and by the odd trick they have of 
getting into every body's way ; to say nothing of their 
broad, merry faces. Their property is in common, it 
seems; for they have only one small pack between 
them. 

" Here come ten or a dozen plainly but comfortably 
dressed mechanics ; hard-working men they seem, and 
just the sort of persons to make their way in a coun- 
try where the artisan occupies his proper position, and 
where honest toil — and dishonest, too, sometimes — is 
almost certain to reap a harvest. Far differently will 
you fare, and far preferable, too, will be your lot, in 
regions where privation is the rule, to that of many 
amongst your numerous fellow-travellers, unaccus- 
tomed as they are to laborious occupations — with 
frames uninured to fatigue, and constitutions unha- 



HISTOlvY OF CALIFORNIA. 91 

bituated to scanty fare, to exposure to heat and cold, 
and wet and sudden changes ! Whilst you are succeed- 
ing in your object, they will grow wearied, disappointed, 
and home-sick, and long to be back again on the 
theatre of their former struggles. 

" The human stream ceases not to flow from the 
vessels in the harbor ; no sooner is one boat-load 
disposed of than another arrives, and so on, until the 
town is gorged with new-comers, who, after a few 
days' sojourn, to recruit their strength, after the 
fatigues of a long and irksome voyage, depart, and 
are seen no more for months ; many, perhaps, never 
to return. Very few of this vast multitude deserve 
the epithet of poor. To get here at all requires 
money ; and to maintain one's self after getting here, 
the emigrant must have some little means. 

" The majority of the emigrants are men occupying 
a respectable station in society ; some are even 
distinguished in their calling ; but the eager desire of 
making a fortune in a hurry has induced them to 
throw up good employments and comfortable homes ; 
to leave friends, relatives, connexions, wife, children, 
and familiar associations, to embark their strength, 
intelligence, and activity, in this venture. All is 
bustle where they have landed : beats going to and 
fro ; rafts slowly discharging their cumbrous loads ; 
porters anxiously and interestedly civil ; all excited ; 
all bent on gain ; ships innumerable in the bay ; 
mountains around ; a clear, blue sky above; and the 
bright waters dancing in the sun, until they touch the 
horizon in the distance, blending their brightness with 
his golden track. 

" I walked on until I came up to a group of men, 
who, like myself, were looking on the busy scene 



92 HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 

before us with no small degree of interest. I reocg- 
nized amongst them two of the volunteers, with whom 
I forthwith claimed acquaintance. The whole party 
had come from the mines, as was easily to be seen 
from their appearance, which was something the 
worse for wear, their countenances being weather- 
b-eaten and bronzed by exposure ; whilst their attire, 
consisting of buckskin coats, leather leggings, and 
broad-brimmed hats, denoted the sort of labor in 
which they had been recently engaged. I learned 
from them, in the course of a subsequent conversation, 
that they had all of them been successful at the 6 dig- 
gings.' One of the number had made, or ' picked,' 
two thousand dollars, and the rest, from that to nine 
thousand dollars each, within the space of a few 
months. With this, however, they were far from 
satisfied, most of them being determined to realize a 
large fortune before they quitted the country ; for not 
one of them seemed to have the remotest intention of 
settling. 

" The party had come down from the mines to make 
purchases, and to enjoy a little recreation. They were 
admirable specimens of their class — hardy in appear- 
ance and rough in demeanor ; but shrewd, withal, and 
toil-enduring. For the moment, their conversation 
turned upon the prospects of the newly-landed emigrants 
— for I should have stated that there were one or two 
arrivals in the harbor — and they were unsparing of 
their remarks upon such of the new comers as by their 
dress, or any physical peculiarity, offered a fair target 
for their witticisms, which were not less pointed than 
coarse. 

" The discovery of the gold mines, has done at 
once for San Francisco what it was reasonable to 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 93 

anticipate time only could have effected ; and its pro- 
gress in importance has far outstripped the most 
Banguine expectations which could be based upon any 
hypothesis hazarded on the strength of its admirable 
position and facilities for trade. Nevertheless, its 
growth seems unnatural ; and, looking at it as I saw 
it then, it left on my mind the impression of instability, 
so marvellous was it to gaze upon a city of tents, wood, 
and canvas, starting up thus suddenly, forming but a 
halting-place to the thousands who visited it ; having 
for citizens a large majority of gamblers and specula- 
tors ; and presenting of civilization but the rudest 
outline, and some of its worst vices. It was impossible, 
indeed, for an observer to contemplate San Francisco, 
at this particular period of its history, and not to feel 
that every thing about it savored of transition. A 
storm or a fire must have destroyed the whole in a few 
hours ; for every house, shed, or tent, had manifestly 
been constructed merely to serve the end of the actual 
occupier ; they were all adapted for trading, but not 
a convenience or a comfort appertained to them, to 
indicate a desire or an intention of settlement. Every 
day brought new-comers, and added to the number of 
ephemeral structures which crowded the hill-sides. 
Mechanics of every description of calling were at work, 
earnestly, busily, and cheerfully ; and, whichever way 
I turned, there was bustle and activity ; yet, withal, I 
felt that such a state of things was unsound, because 
resting on what was essentially speculative, and I 
doubted not but a great change must come before the 
city could be regarded as substantially advancing. 
Comprised at a glance, it presented no other ap- 
pearance save that of a confused crowd of tenements, 
of every variety of construction ; some high, some 



94 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

low, perched upon the steep hills, or buried in the 
deep valleys — but still tents and canvas every 
where and any where, their numbers defying calcula- 
tion, their structure and position all analysis. There 
existed neither wells nor ponds within a very consider- 
able distance ; and what struck me as most singular, 
being aware that the Spaniards had a mission here, 
there was no sign of a church. I subsequently ascer- 
tained that the site of the Mission of Dolores, about 
five miles distant, had been preferred by the Spaniards, 
and that divine service was performed there still. 

" As I proceeded along the road leading into the 
principal street of the city, I was uncomfortably re- 
minded that it would soon become necessary for me to 
select a place where I could procure refreshment ; 
and in connexion with this necessity, arose another 
consideration no less important, namely, where I should 
lodge ? There was no other mode of solving the diffi- 
culty, save by an exploration of the localities ; accord- 
ingly, I kept these objects in view, whilst I also grati- 
fied my curiosity by continuing my perambulations. 

" In this same road, but nearer to the entrance of 
the main street than I should say was, under any cir- 
cumstances, altogether pleasant, stood the correl of the 
Washington Market, being a spacious area of ground, 
inclosed with stakes, over which were stretched raw 
hides. Owing to the large number of cattle slaugh- 
tered here for the use of the inhabitants, the odor 
from this place was insufferable, and I quickened my 
pace until my olfactory organs became sensible of a 
purer atmosphere. 

" I turned into the principal street, and soon came 
up to the market itself, which is a wooden house, about 
thirty feet square, kept by an American. To my 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 95 

right, as I advanced, were some stores and hotels, 
and a confectioner's shop of remarkably neat and 
clean appearance : these were all one story, wooden 
buildings. One of the hotels was appropriately desig- 
nated as ' The Colonnade.' It was kept by a volun- 
teer named Huxley, and differed from every similar 
establishment in the town, inasmuch as the proprietor 
allowed neither gambling nor drunkenness on his 
premises. To this the ' Gotham Saloon,' a little fur- 
ther on, offered a perfect contrast, for here there were 
several monte rooms and a large bowling-alley, where 
persons who had a taste for the latter amusement 
might indulge in their favorite pastime for a dollar a 
game. This saloon was likewise kept by two volun- 
teers, as was also the confectioner's by a fourth ; so 
that three of the most noted houses in the town wero 
rented by men, who, a few months before, scarcely pos- 
sessed any thing save their enterprise and their indus- 
try, but who were now on the high road to opulence. 
The more credit was due to them, and others of their 
brethren whom fortune had similarly favored, because, 
at first, they had deep-rooted prejudices to encounter, 
which prudence and persoverance only could have 
enabled them to overcome. 

"I came next to the Square, or ' Plaza,' on one 
side of which, and fronting it, stood the ' Miner's 
Bank,' established by a Mr. Wright, a keen specula- 
tor, who had secured possession of a large extent of 
landed property, which he was turning to the very 
best account. On the left of the Plaza, I noticed a 
spacious-looking wooden building, two stories high, 
called the ' Parker House ;' but the handsome piazza 
in front caused me to hesitate on the threshold ; for I 
apprehended — and not without reason — that, even in 



9(5 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

California, appearances must be paid for ; as, there- 
fore, my purse was not overstocked, I prudently sought 
a more modest establishment. 

" I passed another hotel, similar to this one, but not 
quite so large, and came presently to a low wooden 
house, of most unattractive and unprepossessing ex- 
terior, which was dignified by the name of th^ ' Cafe 
JPrangais.' As this seemed likely to suit my present 
convenience, and to promise a scale of prices on a par 
with its external appearance, I entered boldly, and 
seated myself at the dining-table. I noticed, as I went 
in, that, notwithstanding the poverty without, there 
was abundance within; the counter being literally 
overcharged with French pastry, a variety of ingenious 
culinary preparations, and some foreign liquors. 

"After I had finished my repast, consisting of a 
beef-steak, two eggs, and a couple of cups of coffee, I 
prepared to depart. I specify the items of which my 
repast was made up, because of the price I paid for 
them — namely, two dollars and a half. I was informed, 
on hazarding an observation respecting the amount, 
that the charges were excessively moderate, any thing 
in the shape of a dinner being usually charged one 
dollar and fifty cents ; half a dollar each for the eggs, 
which were extras, was only a reasonable price for 
such luxuries, as they frequently sold for double. I 
considered the information thus obtained to be cheap, 
of its kind, -and went away with a mental reservation 
not to eat any more eggs in California, unless they 
were of another description than the golden ones. 

" As I repassed the ' Parker House,' the hotel, par 
excellence, of San Francisco, I went in, knowing that, 
like all similar establishments, there were the usual 
amusements going on within. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 97 

" This is not only the largest, but the handsomest 
building in San Francisco ; and, having been con- 
structed at enormous expense, and entirely on specula- 
tion, a concurrence of fortunate circumstances alone, 
such^as had followed upon the discovery of the gold 
mines, could have insured its prosperity. It was now 
one of the most frequented, fashionable, and firmly 
established hotels in the country ; and, in so far as it 
presented a model to the builders and settlers in the 
town, was a signal illustration of the shrewdness and 
enterprise of the Yankee character, and a standing 
credit to the projectors and proprietors. 

" It is built entirely of wood, and contains two very 
spacious principal rooms ; the one a dining-room, the 
other set apart for billiards. Besides these, there are 
three saloons of lesser dimensions, especially devoted 
to gambling, and two well supplied bars — one below, 
to the right of the entry, the other in the billiard- 
room. The portion of the hotel that is not set apart 
for the usual offices and conveniences is divided off 
into innumerable chambers, which are occupied by the 
superior classes of emigrants — lawyers, doctors, money- 
brokers, cum multis aliis. 

" The saloon contains two very handsome billiard- 
tables, which are constantly occupied by players, 
chiefly Americans, some of them of first-rate excel- 
lence. The charge was a dollar per game of a hundred, 
and they were no sooner vacated by one party than 
another came in. 

" The establishment contained nine gambling-tables, 
which were crowded day and night, by the citizens 
and the miners ; many of the latter staking very large 
sums upon the turn of a card. The stakes, however, 
varied from twenty-five cents to five thousand dollars ; 



98 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

and the excitement of some of the losers was frequently 
fearful to contemplate. Some who gained largely 
prudently withdrew ; and I was informed that, a few 
days previously to my arrival, a new-comer from the 
States, who was bound for the mines, having come 
into the saloon, and tried his fortune at the monte 
tables, luckily made twenty thousand dollars, with 
which he returned home, by the steamer, two days 
afterwards. 

" The ' Golden Eagle,' {VAguila d'Oro) is another 
gambling establishment, situated in one of the streets 
leading into the Plaza. It is a canvas house, about 
fifty feet square, fitted up with the requisites for play, 
and let out by the proprietor at the rate of fifteen 
hundred dollars a month. Every available spot around 
the tables was crowded to inconvenience by persons 
who were engaged deeply in the game, the majority 
standing up and watching the chances with counte- 
nances betokening the greatest excitement. 

" I now proceeded to the City Hotel, a large but 
somewhat antiquated building, constructed of adobe, 
after the Spanish fashion, but hybridized by American 
improvements. The interior was even more insuffer- 
able than the El Dorado, in respect of the boisterous- 
ness of its frequenters. In the first room that I 
entered were five gambling-tables, doing a ' smashing 
business' — a term employed, somewhat in contradic- 
tion to its import, to denote prosperity. The majority 
of the players were Americans and other foreigners, 
intermixed with a goodly number of Spaniards of the 
lowest order. There was the same excitement, the 
same recklessness, and the same trickery here, as at 
the other gambling saloons, only infinitely more noise 
and smoke, and swearing and inebriety. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 99 

11 Here I met with another of the volunteers, who 
proposing a walk, we went out together, and proceeded 
to the Plaza. I found a good many old acquaintances 
set up in business at this spot ; one, who had been a 
captain, had recently turned money-broker, and now 
kept an office for the exchange of coin and gold-dust, 
having entered into partnership with a highly respect- 
able and agreeable individual, of active business habits, 
who promised to prove a great acquisition to the con- 
cern. 

"We soon reached a low, long, adobe building, 
situated at the upper side of the square, and which 
my companion told me was the Custom House. To 
the right of the Plaza stood the Saint Charles's 
Hotel, a wooden edifice covered in with canvas, and 
the Peytona House, an establishment of a similar 
description, in both of which we did not fail to find 
the usual games carried on. 

" The streets leading down to the water-side contain 
comparatively few hotels or eating-houses, they being 
chiefly wood and canvas trading-stores. I observed 
amongst them several newly opened auction and com- 
mission-rooms, where goods were being put up, recom- 
mended and knocked dow r n in true Yankee style. An 
immense number of wooden frame-houses in course of 
erection met our view in every direction ; and upon 
remarking that many of them appeared to have been 
purposely left incomplete, I ascertained that this arose 
from the extreme difficulty of procuring lumber, which, 
on account of its scarcity, occasionally fetched an in- 
credibly high price. A good deal of it is brought 
from Oregon, and some from South America. Many 
of the larger houses, but far inferior, notwithstanding, 
to such of the same kind as could easily be procured 



100 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

in New York at a rental of from 300 to 400 dollars 
a-year, cost here at least 10,000 dollars to build tliera, 
the lots on which they were erected being valued at 
sums varying from 30,000 to 50,000 dollars, according 
to the locality. Many spots of ground, just large 
enough for a small trading-house or a tent to stand 
upon, let at from 1200 to 2000 dollars. 

" Amongst the various emigrants who daily flocked 
into the city — for each day brought its fresh arrivals 
— were numerous Chinese, and a very considerable 
number of Frenchmen, from the Sand which Islands 
and from South America. The former had been 
consigned, with houses and merchandise, to certain 
Americans in San Francisco, to whom they were 
bound by contract, as laborers, to work at a scale of 
wages very far below the average paid to mechanics 
and others generally. The houses they brought with 
them from China, and which they set up where they 
were wanted, were infinitely superior and more sub- 
stantial than those erected by the Yankees, being 
built chiefly of logs of wood, or scantling, from six to 
eight inches in thickness, placed one on the top of the 
other, to form the front, rear, and sides ; whilst the 
roofs were constructed on an equally simple and inge- 
nious plan, and were remarkable for durability. 

" These Chinese had all the air of men likely to 
prove good citizens, being quiet, inoffensive, and par- 
ticularly industrious. I once went into an eating- 
house, kept by one of these people, and was astonished 
at the neat arrangement and cleanliness of the place, 
the excellence of the table, and moderate charges. It 
was styled the i Canton Restaurant ;' and so thoroughly 
Chinese was it in its appointments, and in the manner 
of service, that one might have easily fancied one's 



HISTORY OF CALIIORNIA. 101 

self in the heart of the Celestial Empire. The bar- 
keeper — though he spoke excellent English — was a 
Chinese, as were also the attendants. Every article 
that was sold, even of the most trifling kind, was set 
down, in Chinese characters, as it was disposed of; 
it being the duty of one of the waiters to attend to 
this department. This he did very cleverly and 
quickly, having a sheet of paper for the purpose, on 
which the article and the price were noted down in 
Chinese characters, by means of a long, thin brush, 
moistened in a solution of Indian or Chinese ink. As 
I had always been given to understand that these 
people were of dirty habits, I feel it only right to 
state that I was delighted with the cleanliness of this 
place, and am gratified to be able to bear testimony 
to the injustice of such a sweeping assertion. 

" As for the French, they seemed entirely out of 
their element in this Yankee town ; and this circum- 
stance is not to be wondered at, when the climate and 
the habits of the people are taken into consideration, 
and also the strange deficiencies they must have 
observed in the ordinary intercourse of life between 
the citizens, so different from the polished address, 
common even amongst the peasantry in their rudest 
villages; to say nothing of the difficulty of carrying 
on business amongst a people whose language they did 
not understand. But their universal goal was the 
mines ; and to the mines they went, with very few 
exceptions. 

" Speaking of them reminds me of a c Caf4 Restau- 
rant,' in San Francisco, kept by a very civil French- 
man, and situated on the way to the Point. I mention 
J.t, because I one day made here the most uncomfort- 
able repast it had ever been my lot to sit down to. 

9* 



102 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

Yet this was not owing to any lack of attention on the 
part of the proprietor, to any inferiority in the quality 
of his provisions, or to any deficiency of culinary skill 
in their preparation ; but simply to the prevalence of 
the pest to which I have already alluded as invading 
my own tent, namely, the dust. The house was built 
chiefly of wood, and had a canvas roof, but this was 
insufficient to keep out the impalpable particles with 
which the air was charged, and which settled upon 
and insinuated themselves into every article in the 
place. There was dust on the counter, on the shelves, 
on the seats, on the decanters, and in them ; on the 
tables, in the salt, on my beef-steak, and in my coffee. 
There was dust on the polite landlord's cheeks, and in 
his amiable wife's eyes, which she was wiping with the 
corner of a dusty apron. I hurried my meal, and 
was paying my score, when I caught sight of my own 
face in a dusty-looking and dust-covered glass near 
the bar, and saw that I too had become covered with 
it, my entire person being literally encrusted with a 
coat of powder, from which I experienced considerable 
difficulty in cleansing myself. 

" Notwithstanding all I had seen of San Francisco, 
there yet existed here a world apart, that I should 
never have dreamed of, but for my being one day 
called upon to act upon a jury appointed to sit in 
inquest over a person who had died there. This place 
was called the l Happy Valley/ 

" Previously to our repairing thither, we attended 
at the court-house, to take the usual oath. Proceed- 
ing then through the lower part of the town, we 
reached the beach, along which, by the water-side, we 
walked for a distance of three miles — up to our ancles 
in mud and sand — until we came to a spot where there 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 103 

were innumerable tents pitched, -of all sizes, forms, and 
descriptions, forming an irregular line stretching along 
the shore for about two miles. 

" The ground was, of course, low, damp, and muddy ; 
and the most unmistakeable evidences of discomfort, 
misery, and sickness, met our view on every side, for 
the locality was one of the unwholesomest in the 
vicinity of the town. Yet here, to avoid the payment 
of enormous ground-rents, and at the same time to 
combine the advantage of cheap living, were encamped 
the major portion of the most recently arrived emi- 
grants, and, amongst the rest, those of the ship 
Brooklyn, on one of the passengers of which the in- 
quest was about to be held. 

" This, then, was the ' Happy Valley ;' a term no 
doubt applied to it in derision, taking into considera- 
tion the squalor, the discomfort, the filth, the misery, 
and the distress that were rife there. 

" I am satisfied that much of the crime and lawless- 
ness that is prevalent in California — particularly in 
towns like San Francisco, where the ruder sex are 
congregated exclusively and in large multitudes — is 
attributable to the want of the humanizing presence of 
women. In San Francisco there were about ten 
thousand males, and scarcely a hundred females ; for, 
although in many parts of California the latter out- 
number the former, the national prejudice against 
color was too strong for legitimate amalgamation to 
take place." 

Such was San Francisco soon after the discovery 
of the riches of the Sacramento region. From an 
insignificant settlement, sometimes the resort of 
whaling-vessels, and of a few traders, it was quickly 
transferred into a city, with an extensive and con- 



104 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

stantly increasing commerce. In its streets and 
squares, erected where, just before, was a desert 
plain, people of almost every nation were seen busily 
engaged in traffic, or preparing for departure to the 
gold region. It seemed the work of the enchanter. 

Although, like San Francisco, Monterey was almost 
deserted by its inhabitants upon the receipt of informa- 
tion of the gold discovery, it soon began to give signs 
of improvement. The bay, upon ^the shore of which 
the town is located, is more exposed to the swell of 
the sea, and to the north-west storms, than the Bay of 
San Francisco, and therefore the harbor is inferior. 
Yet Monterey received a considerable share of the tidfl 
of emigration. Those who stopped there were gener- 
ally persons who intended to make a permanent 
settlement, and engage in mercantile pursuits ; and, 
therefore, though the increase of the town was not so 
rapid as that of San Francisco, it carried with it more 
denotements of stability. 

The town is situated on a short bend near the en- 
trance of the bay, upon its southern side. The point 
of land which partly protects its harbor from the sea 
is called Point Pinos. A very neat and pretty appear- 
ance is presented by the houses of the native Califor- 
nians, which are generally constructed of adobis and 
white-plastered. Those of the Americans are easily 
distinguished by their being built of logs and planks, 
and presenting a more substantial, but rougher appear- 
ance. The town is surrounded by hills, covered with 
lofty pine trees. Upon a height which overlooks the 
town and harbor, a fort was built by the Americans 
during the war with Mexico, and a military force con- 
tinued there till after the treaty of peace. 

The country in the neighborhood of Monterey is 



niSTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 105 

fertile, and yields ample reward to the agriculturist. 
There would, therefore, be no lack of supplies of pro- 
visions, but for the indolence of the Californians, 
owning the different ranches in the surrounding coun- 
try. From this cause, great scarcity of provisions of 
all kinds is often the result. Notwithstanding the 
additions made by Yankee enterprise and innovation, 
the general manners and customs of the inhabitants 
of Monterey retain all their old Spanish character ; 
and some of the customs of the natives, particularly 
their amusements, are heartily joined in by the more 
susceptible of the new-comers. The fandango and 
the serenade with the guitar, still hold their sway as 
freely and as undisturbed as in old Spain. The win- 
ters are severely felt here. The rain causes torrents 
of water to pour down from the hills in the rear of the 
town, deluging the principal streets, and rendering 
their passage almost impossible. During this period, 
the only resort of the inhabitants for passing away the 
time is the vice of gambling, in which they early 
become adepts. This gambling propensity, noticed 
among the Californians, induced a considerable num- 
ber of the initiated to emigrate from the United States, 
and Monterey received a goodly proportion of them. 
Such an increase of the population, however, could 
not be considered desirable. Upon the whole, though 
in a less degree, the effect of the golden attractions 
of California could be seen at Monterey as at San 
Francisco. Though it did not spring at Once from a 
small settlement to a large city, it was considerably 
improved, and in 1849, it numbered more than a 
thousand inhabitants. 

A short distance south of Monterey, is the town of 
Santa Barbara, Its situation is one of the most 



106 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

beautiful in California. It is built upon a plain ten 
miles in extent. In front is a broad bay, having a 
smooth beach of nearly thirty miles in extent. On 
the right, towards the water, is a lofty eminence rising 
nearly a thousand feet. Directly back of the town is 
a range of almost impassable hills, running in a diago- 
nal direction. There is no harbor in the bay, and 
vessels are obliged to anchor in an open roadstead ; 
and when the south-east winds prevail, they are in 
constant peril. 

The progress of the town was not much affected by 
the gold mania. But though it offers no attractions 
for mercantile or gold digging purposes, it has others 
which will, no doubt, make it a favorite place of resi- 
dence. In 1849, it contained about one hundred and 
fifty houses, built of adobes, and all one story in height. 
The town is celebrated for being the residence of the 
aristocracy of California, and for its beautiful women. 
Its inhabitants are principally rancJiei'os, who visit 
their ranches two or three times in a year to see to 
the marking and killing of their cattle, and then 
spend the remainder of the year in the town, enjoying 
life as much as possible. Indolence is the general 
vice. A horse to ride, plenty to eat, and cigaros to 
smoke constitute their summum bonum. Santa 
Barbara is more celebrated for its fandangos than 
any other town on the coast. These are open to all 
comers, and constitute the general pastime of an even- 
ing. The climate is mild and spring-like, and, inde- 
pendent of the attractions in the town, the surrounding 
country offers many of the most beautiful rides in 
California. About a mile in the rear of the town, at 
the top of a gentle slope, is the mission of Santa 
Barbara, with its old, white walls and cross-mounted 



HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA.. 107 

spires. The presiding priest of California resides 
there, and a number of the converted Indians still 
remain and cultivate the surrounding soil. The mis- 
sion is in a better condition than any other in the 
country. 

Ciudad de los Angeles, or the City of the Angels, 
is situated a hundred and ten miles south of Santa 
Barbara, at the end of an immense plain, extending 
from the city twenty-five miles, to San Pedro, its port. 
This is the garden spot of California. Before the 
discovery of the gold mines, the City of the Angels 
was the largest town in the country. It contains about 
two thousand inhabitants, most of whom are wealthy 
rancheros, who dwell there to cultivate the grape. As 
in all the towns of California, the houses are con- 
structed of adobes and covered with asphaltum, which 
is found in great quantities near the town. The 
northern section is laid out in streets, and is occupied 
by the trading citizens ; the southern section is made 
up of gardens, vinyards and orchards, which are made 
extremely productive by irrigating the soil with the 
water of a large stream running through them. Many 
acres of ground are covered with vines, which, being 
trimmed every year, are kept about six feet in height. 
In the fall of the year, these vines are burdened with 
rich clusters of grapes ; and, in addition to these, 
great quantities of fruit of various kinds are raised. 
The surrounding country abounds with game of all 
kinds. In the rainy season, millions of ducks and 
geese cover the plains between Los Angeles and San 
Pedro, while the neighboring hills abound with quails, 
deer, elk, and antelope. The vineyards produce such 
quantities of grapes, that many thousand barrels of 
wine and aguardiente — the brandy of the country — 



108 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

are annually manufactured. The wine is of various 
kinds ; some of it being equal to the best produced in 
Europe. 

The inhabitants of the City of the Angels, being 
generally of the wealthy class of Californians, have 
always strongly adhered to the institutions of Mexico. 
They offered the most strenuous resistance to the 
American forces at the time of the conquest of Cali- 
fornia, but were vanquished in two battles, and the 
city taken. All the customs and amusements peculiar 
to the Spaniards and the countries which they colo- 
nized, are here in full vogue. Music, dancing, sing- 
ing, slaughtering cattle, or gambling, are the usual 
pastimes of the inhabitants. Yet, with these trifling 
occupations, attachment to the Roman Catholic church 
and a careful observance of its ceremonies, is charac- 
teristic of all. Upon the tolling of the bell, gaming, 
swearing, dancing — every thing is stopped while the 
prescribed prayer is muttered, and then all go on as 
before. 

Though Los Angeles did not experience any increase 
of population consequent upon the flood of emigration 
to California, its delightful climate and its fertile soil 
are gradually procuring it such consideration as will 
doubtless lead to the filling up of the surrounding 
country. 

San Diego is the most southern town of Upper 
California. It is situated on the coast, three miles 
north of the line separating Upper and Lower Califor- 
nia. The harbor is inferior only to that of San Fran- 
cisco. It is perfectly sheltered by land from the gales 
at all seasons of the year. Vessels can lie within a 
cable's length of the beach, there being no surf run- 
ning upon it. The town is s^uated about three miles 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 109 

from the bench, and is about the same size as Santa 
Barbara. It is a place of far greater facilities and 
promise, however, than the iast mentioned town. San 
Diego has always been the most important depot fcr 
hides, upon the coast ; and there is no doubt that an 
extensive inland trade will be carried on between it 
and the towns in the interior, as the region of the 
Colorado and the Gila becomes settled. Since the 
conquest of Upper California and the discovery of the 
gold, the progress of the town has been rapid. From 
being an inconsiderable settlement sustained princi- 
pally by a mission, which had early been established 
there, it has become a town of great commercial 
promise. The climate being mild and pleasant, and 
the surrounding country abounding in game and 
adapted for grazing, thus making provisions abundant, 
San Diego is a very desirable place of residence. 

The town of San Jose' is situated in a fertile valley, 
near the most southern extremity of the Bay of San 
Francisco. On the south of the town runs a small 
stream, and the place is surrounded by plains, afford- 
ing fine pasturage. Being situated on the direct 
route from the southern ports to the gold mines, San 
Jose* received a considerable stimulus from their dis- 
covery. A profitable trade was soon established, and 
the town improved very rapidly. It is now a town of 
about four thousand inhabitants, and the increase still 
continues rapid. In a greater degree than any of the 
older towns of California, it has all the evidence of a 
thriving and progressive place. The greater part of 
the buildings are constructed in a style which shows 
the inroads of the taste of the people from the Atlantic 
States. A number of Mormons settled here at an 
early period, and built a great many neat wooden 



110 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

houses and cottages, which contrast favorably witi 
the heavy old adobes residences of the native inhabit- 
ants. Flour and saw-mills have been erected, 
but the scarcity of water is severely felt by their pro- 
prietors. 

San Jose in respect to climate and general abun- 
dance of the necessaries and luxuries of life, is one 
of the most desirable places of residence in California. 
Though situated a short distance inland, and thus 
deprived of the facilities which contributed to the 
rapid growth of San Francisco, the fertile plain sur- 
rounding it, and the increase of the inland trade and 
travel will draw to the town and its neighborhood a 
thriving, business population. The old mission of 
San Jose' is situated about ten miles from the town. 
The establishment and the grounds belonging to it are 
in a state of decay. The population there is about 
three hundred in number, most of whom are Indians, 
and all of them in a degraded condition. 

The emigration to the gold region caused many 
towns to spring up, as if by magic, in its neighborhood, 
and on the route to it from San Francisco. These 
were principally the stopping places of the gold-seekers, 
or the seat of a trade in provisions and articles manu- 
factured in the States and transported thither. Some 
of these towns have become of a size sufficient to war- 
rant the assertion that they will soon rival the cities 
of the Atlantic coast of the United States. The pro- 
gress of these places is aided by the enormous price 
of real estate in San Francisco. 

One of the most promising of the new towns is called 
Benieia. It is situated on the Strait of Carquinez, 
thirty-five miles north of San Francisco. The strait 
forms the entrance of Suisan into Pablo Bay. The 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. Ill 

site of Benicia is a gentle slope, which, descending to 
the water, becomes almost a plain. Vessels of the 
first class can lie at anchor at its bank, and discharge 
their cargoes, and the harbor is safe from violent 
winds. The town has been made the head-quarters of the 
Pacific division of the United States army, and a site 
for a navy-yard has been selected by Commodore Jones. 
The marks of governmental favor show in what estima- 
tion the position of Benicia is held. The town was 
laid out in 1848, by Robert Semple and Thomas 0. 
Larkin. Early in 1850, lots were selling at very high 
rates, and the population numbered more than a 
thousand persons. 

Between Benicia and Sacramento city, several towns 
have been laid out, all in very favorable positions. 
The principal are — Martinez, on the southern shore of 
the strait of Carquinez, nearly opposite Benicia ; New 
York of the Pacific, at the junction of the River San 
Joaquin with the Bay of Suisan ; Suisan, on the west 
bank of the Sacramento, at a distance of eighty miles 
from San Francisco. 

Next to San Francisco, Sacramento is the largest 

city in California. It is situated on the eastern bank 

of the Sacramento River, one hundred miles from San 

Francisco, and sixty-five from Suisan Bay. It is 

located on a beautiful plain, which is not elevated more 

than ten or twelve feet above the river at low water. 

This being insufficient to protect it from the rise of 

the waters of the river, several disastrous floods have 

occurred during the existence of the city. Up to this 

point, the river is navigable for large class steamers. 

Ships drawing not more than twelve feet of water may 

go up that far at all seasons; and, besides these 

commercial advantages, Sacramento is the natural 
9 & F* 



112 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

trading depot for the richest portion of the mining 
regions. 

Where the city of Sacramento now stands, at the 
time of the gold discovery, there stood, " solitary and 
alone," a small fort. This formed the nucleus, about 
which, at the commencement of the rush of emigra- 
tion, the town soon sprang into existence. Its increase 
has been almost as rapid as that of San Francisco. 
During the rainy season of the early part of 1850, 
the population numbered somewhere between twenty 
and thirty thousand. But at that poriod, a consider- 
able portion of the gold-diggers made Sacramento and 
the other towns in the neighborhood of the mines, 
their resort, to escape the severity of spending the 
season at the open and exposed valleys of the gold 
region. The city is regularly laid out, but its appear- 
ance evidences the rapidity of its erection. The 
greater number of the houses and stores in the neigh- 
borhood of the river are constructed of wood, while 
the outskirts, particularly upon the south, are occupied 
by the tents of the constantly-arriving overland emi- 
grants. Before the commencement of the last rainy 
season, the number of these emigrants reached two or 
three thousand. They squatted upon the vacant lots 
which had been surveyed and sold to other persons. 
This caused a considerable agitation in the town, which 
continued till the disastrous flood swept both the par- 
ties off the ground, and thus left the field clear for 
another commencement. Sacramento is the grand 
receptacle of the overland emigration, and this, com- 
bined with its commercial facilities, will continue to 
give the city a superiority over the majority of the 
other places in California. 

Adjoining Sacramento city, is the town of Sutter . 



niSTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 113 

It is situated on the highest and healthiest ground on 
the river. It is not, like Sacramento, subject to an 
annual overflow. The town was originally laid out 
by Captain Sutter and others ; and is owned by Hon. 
John McDougall, Lieutenant-Governor of California, 
and Captain Sutter. It has a thriving business popula- 
tion, and its position, and the fertility of the neigh- 
boring country will soon make it a place of import- 
ance. 

Stockton is to the southern portion of the gold 
region what Sacramento is to the northern. It is 
situated upon a slough, or a succession of sloughs, con- 
taining the back waters formed by the junction of the 
San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers. It is about 
fifty miles from the mouth of the San Joaquin, and 
one hundred from San Francisco. The ground upon 
which it is situated is high and is not subject to over- 
flow. Vessels drawing nine feet water can ascend the 
San Joaquin as far as Stockton, and discharge their 
cargoes on the bank. In the latter part of 1848, the 
town was laid out and a frame building erected by 
Charles M. Weber. In eight months from that time, 
it contained a population of about two thousand per- 
manent residents, and a large number of temporary 
residents, on their road to the mines. Communication 
is with San Francisco by means of steamboats and 
launches, and the commerce of the town is constantly 
increasing. 

Other towns exist — on papei — in the neighborhood 
of San Francisco and the gold region, and, doubtless, 
they will, in the course of time, become settled by a 
thriving, go-ahead population from the Atlantic States. 
Land speculation in California is as profitable a 
business as gold-digging — and less toilsome. Many of 



114 HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 

the shrewd ones, who early took advantage of this 
" tide in the affairs of men," have already reached the 
goal of their hopes, an independent fortune. Those 
who saw how things would turn out, and purchased 
land in the neighborhood of the region which promised 
to receive the principal current of the emigration to ; 
California, found themselves wealthy in the shortf '' 
space of a few months. 

The great influx of emigrants to Upper California *f 
has brought the subject of the settlement of the penin-) ' 
sula into consideration. There is but little doubt that J 
Lower California will, sooner or later, become the/ 
property of the United States, and then its settlement 
and progress will be rapid. The coast upon the gulf 
affords many excellent harbors, and the mountainous ,' 
region of the interior gives abundant evidence of 
mineral wealth, as far as it has been explored. Sever a/ 
silver mines have been opened in different places, tht \ 
principal of which are at San Antonio, between Li 
Paz and Cape San Lucas. Near Loretto, the first . 
settlement in California, extensive copper mines have I 
been opened, and lead and iron abound in all direc " 
tions. The pearl fishery of the gulf has already I 
yielded an enormous wealth, having been prosecute^' i 
from the time of the discovery of the peninsula. Th J 
fishing season lasts from May till November, and 
more than a hundred vessels are yearly engaged inj 
the business. These resources, despite the general], 
unfitness of the country for agricultural purposes, will 
soon attract their full share of consideration, an< 
cause an influx of emigrants and adventurers from th< 
United States and other countries. Some portions 
of the country are susceptible of irrigation, anc 
might thus be rendered fit for cultivation. 

/ 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 115 

The principal port of Lower California is La Paz, 
situated near the mouth of the gulf. The bay on the 
shore of which the town is located, is of great extent 
and beauty, and possesses a large number of rich 
pearl oyster-beds — the pearl fishery having at one 
time supplied the chief article of traffic on this part 
of the coast. The country around the bay is elevated 
and picturesque, though rugged ; the soil being com- 
posed principally of rock and sand, wildly and irre- 
gularly covered with the most prickly species of 
stunted bushes and shrubs of sunburnt hue. The 
town of La Paz is neatly built and presents a pretty 
appearance. The streets are lined with willow trees, 
and these meeting overhead, form a delicious shade 
during the heat of the day. The houses are all con- 
structed of adobes, plastered white, and thatched with 
the leaves of the palm tree. The beach is lined with 
palms, cocoa-nut, fig and tamarind trees. La Paz 
was taken by the American volunteers during the 
war with Mexico, and considerable destruction of the 
orchards, gardens and houses of the town was the 
consequence. The harbor offers great advantages for 
a naval station, and such, doubtless, it will become. 

San Josd, the most southern town of Lower Cali- 
fornia, is situated about half-way between Cape San 
Lucas and Cape Palmo, on a sort of desert plain, 
extending from the beautiful valley of San Jose to the 
ocean. It is located about three miles from the beach, 
and is one of the strangest creations in the shape of a 
town imaginable. 

The heavy rains and freshets which occur in the 
wet season, in this region, render every elevation in- 
valuable as a preservative against the dangers of sud- 
den inundations ; hence all the houses are built upon 



116 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

Steeps, rocks, and hillocks, necessarily irrespective of 
order ; so that, even in the most densely populated 
districts, barren hills, as yet unoccupied by dwellings, 
are frequently to be met with, with deep hollows in 
every part, converting mere visits into positive enter- 
prises, in most instances both tedious and disagreeable. 
To these great natural disadvantages, the indolence 
of the inhabitants has added others, their common 
practice being to dig for adobe clay at the nearest 
convenient spot, namely, for the most part, opposite 
their own doors ; thus, one would imagine that the 
site of the whole town had been visited and disturbed 
by a succession of miniature earthquakes, which, whilst 
they had left the houses themselves unshaken, had 
heaved and perched them up in the most uncomfort- 
able positions, and in the most inaccessible places. In 
the very centre of the principal street, which appears 
to have once upon a time been level, are three or four 
immense clay-pits, serving as a receptacle for dead 
dogs, cats, bones, vegetable refuse, and, in a word, 
every description of rubbish and nuisance a very dirty 
population can convey to or discharge in them. 

But a description of the town would be incomplete 
without adding that it is dotted about in these hollows, 
and in the sand-holes in the rocks, with patches of 
thorn, brush, and cacti, forming a singular yet refresh- 
ing contrast with the general barrenness of the region 
itself, the whole being surrounded by a bleak moun- 
tainous range, which increases in elevation until it 
blends with the clear sky, far in the distance. 

The principal, indeed the only regular street in 
the town, is wide and long, the houses being con- 
structed of adobes and cane, thatched with palm leaves. 
It is blocked up at the remoter end by the fort, which 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 117 

stands upon a wide foundation of rock of considerable 
elevation ; various portions of the adobS walls con- 
necting the crags having been pierced, so as to allow 
artillery to be trained through the embrasures, whilst, 
in other parts, there are numerous loop-holes for 
musketry. There are some very awkward cavities 
amongst these rocks, produced by digging for clay for 
the adobe work. The fort is flat-roofed and para- 
petted, having portholes for cannon ; and below, in 
the very centre of the building, occupying about a third 
of its entire length, runs a thick wall, forming a cres- 
cent, well mounted with heavy guns. At the end of 
this crescent, between it and the front wall, is the 
entrance to the fort — a mere aperture, barely wide 
enough to allow of one man's passing in. 

These defences proved to be of great advantage to 
a small party of Americans that landed at San Jose', 
during the war between the United States and Mexico, 
and were compelled to take shelter in the old quartel, 
or barracks. There they were surrounded by the 
Californians, and stood a siege of several weeks', 
suffering incredible hardships. The population of San 
Jose numbers about three thousand, the majority being 
semi-Indians, or the pure descendants of the- Mexicans. 
There is little promise of any considerable increase in 
the size of the town, owing to the natural disadvan- 
tages of situation. 

The other towns of Lower California are — San 
Antonio, in the neighborhood of an extensive silver 
mine, which has been worked for a long time with 
considerable profit ; Loreto, on the gulf coast, about 
two hundred miles north of La Paz ; San Domingo 
and Todos Santos, on the Pacific coast. The latter 
town is situated on the bay of the same name, and is 



118 HISTORY. OF CALIFORNIA. 

the most northerly part of Lower California. The 
church and mission buildings at this place are the 
largest and most imposing structures of the kind in 
Lower California. The church has a handsome front 
and a lofty steeple. The mission is the residence of 
the head of the church in Lower California. There 
is every reason to believe, that, when the richer por- 
tions of Upper California begin to get a little crowded, 
the tide of emigration will be turned to the south, and 
the ports of the peninsula will become of great com- 
mercial importance. Then, if not before, the country 
will become the property of the United States, either 
by way of purchase, or after the manner of Texas. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE FORMATION OF A STATE GOVERNMENT. 

The state of things which induced the people of 
California to form a state government deserves to be 
fully set forth. Their condition was without prece- 
dent in history ; and from a statement of that condi- 
tion, it will be 6een that the framing of a constitution 
and the organization of a state government was the 
only resource of the Californians. The representations 
of the report of Thomas Butler King to the govern- 
ment of the United States will not be contradicted, 
and these we insert. 

" The discovery of the gold mines had attracted a 
very large number of citizens of the United States to 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 119 

to that territory, who had never been accustomed to 
any other than American law, administered by Ameri- 
can courts. There they found their rights of property 
and person subject to the uncertain, and frequently 
most oppressive, operation of laws written in a lan- 
guage they did not understand, and founded on prin- 
ciples, in many respects, new to them. They complained 
that the alcaldes, or judges, most of whom had been 
appointed or elected before the immigration had com- 
menced, were not lawyers by education or profession ; 
and, being Americans, they were, of course, unac- 
quainted with the laws of Mexico, or the principles of 
the civil law on which they are founded. 

"As our own laws, except for the collection of 
revenue, the transmission of the mails, and establish- 
ment of postoffices, had not been extended over that 
territory, the laws of Mexico, as they existed at the 
conclusion of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, regu- 
lating the relations of the inhabitants of California 
with each other, necessarily remained in force ;* yet, 
there was not a single volume containing those laws, 
as far as I know or believe, in the whole territory, 
except, perhaps, in the governor's office at Monterey. 

" The magistrates, therefore, could not procure 
them, and the administration of justice was, neces- 
sarily, as unequal and fluctuating as the opinions of 
the judges were conflicting and variable. 

" There were no fee-bills to regulate costs ; and, 
consequently, the most cruel exactions, in many in- 
stances, were practised. 

" The greatest confusion prevailed respecting titles 
to property, and the decision of suits involving the 

♦See American Insurance Company, et al. vs. Canter, 1st Peters' 
Supreme Court Reports, 542. 



120 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

most important rights, and very large sums of money 
depended upon the dictum of the judge. 

" The sale of the territory by Mexico to the United 
States had necessarily cut off or dissolved the laws 
regulating the granting or procuring titles to land ; 
and, as our own land-laws had not been extended over 
it, the people were compelled to receive such titles as 
were offered to them, without the means of ascertain- 
ing whether they were valid or not. 

" Litigation was so expensive and precarious that 
injustice and oppression were frequently endured, 
rather than resort to so uncertain a remedy. 

" Towns and cities were springing into existence ; 
many of them without charters or any legal right to 
organize municipal authorities, or to tax property or 
the citizens for the establishment of a police, the 
erection of prisons, or providing any of those means 
for the protection of life and property which are so 
necessary in all civil communities, and especially 
among a people mostly strangers to each other. 

" Nearly one million and a half of dollars had been 
paid into the custom-house, as duties on imported 
goods, before our revenue laws had been extended over 
the country; and the people complained bitterly that 
they were thus heavily taxed without being pro- 
vided with a government for their protection, or 
laws which they could understand, or allowed the 
right to be represented in the councils of the 
nation. 

" While anxiously waiting the action of Congress, 
oppressed and embarrassed by this state of affairs, and j 
feeling the pressing necessity of applying such reme- i 
dies as were in their power, and circumstances seemed I 
to justify, they resolved to substitute laws of their own 



i 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 121 

for tlie existing system, and to establish tribunals for 
their proper and faithful administration. 

"In obedience, therefore, to the extraordinary 
exigencies of their condition, the people of the city of 
San Francisco elected members to form a legislature, 
and clothed them with full powers to pass laws. 

" The communities of Sonoma and of Sacramento 
city followed the example. 

" Thus were three legislative bodies organized ; the 
two most distant being only one hundred and thirty 
miles apart. 

" Other movements of the kind were threatened, 
and doubtless would have followed, in other sections 
of the territory, had they not been arrested by the 
formation of a State government. 

" While the people of California were looking to 
Congress for a territorial government, it was quite 
evident that such an organization was daily becoming 
less suited to their condition, which was entirely differ- 
ent from that of any of the territories out of which 
the new States of the Union had been formed. 

" Those territories had been at first slowly and 
sparsely peopled by a few hunters and farmers, who 
penetrated the wilderness, or traversed the prairies, 
in search of game or a new home ; and, when thus 
gradually their population warranted it, a government 
was provided for them. They, however, had no foreign 
commerce, nor any thing beyond the ordinary pursuits 
of agriculture, and the various branches of business 
which usually accompany it, to induce immigration 
within their borders. Several years were required to 
give them sufficient population and wealth to place 
them in a condition to require, or enable them to sup- 
port, a State government. 



122 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

"Not so with California. The discovery of the 
vast metallic and mineral wealth in her mountains had 
already attracted to her, in the space of twelve months, 
more than one hundred thousand people. An exten- 
sive commerce had sprung up with China, the ports of 
Mexico on the Pacific, Chili, and Australia. 

" Hundreds of vessels from the Atlantic ports of 
the Union, freighted with our manufactures and 
agricultural products, and filled with our fellow-citi- 
zens, had arrived, or were on their passage round 
Cape Horn ; so that, in the month of June last, (1849) 
there were more than three hundred sea-going vessels 
in the port of San Francisco. 

" California has a border on the Pacific of ten de- 
grees of latitude, and several important harbors which 
have never been surveyed; nor is there a buoy, a 
beacon, a lighthouse, or a fortification, on the whole 
coast. 

" There are no docks for the repair of national or 
mercantile vessels nearer than New York, a distance 
of some twenty thousand miles round Cape Horn. 

" All these things, together with the proper regula- 
tions for the gold region, the quicksilver mines, the 
survey and disposition of the public lands, the adjust- 
ment of land titles, the establishment of a mint and 
of marine hospitals, required the immediate formation 
of a more perfect civil government than California 
then had, and the fostering care of Congress and the 
Executive. 

" California had, as it were by magic, become a 
State of great wealth and power. One short year 
had given her a commercial importance but little 
inferior to that of the most powerful of the old States. 
She had passed her minority at a single bound, and 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 123 

might justty bo regarded as fully entitled to take her 
place as an equal among her sisters of the Union. 

" When, therefore, the reality became known to the 
people of that territory that the government had done 
nothing to relieve them from the evils and embarrass- 
ments under which they were suffering, and seeing no 
probability of any change on the subject which divided 
Congress, they adopted, with most unexampled una- 
nimity and promptitude, the only course which lay 
open to them — the immediate formation of a State 
government. 

" They were induced to take this step not only for 
the reason that it promised the most speedy remedy 
for present difficulties, but because the great and 
rapidly growing interests of the territory demanded 
it ; and all reflecting men saw, at a glance, that it 
ought not to be any longer, and could not, under any 
circumstances, be much longer postponed. 

" They not only considered themselves best qualified, 
but that they had the right to decide, as far as they 
were concerned, the embarrassing question which was 
shaking the Union to its centre, and had thus far 
deprived them of a regularly organized civil govern- 
ment. They believed that, in forming a constitution, 
they had a right to establish or prohibit slavery, and 
that, in their action as a State, they would be sustained 
by the North and the South. 

" In taking this step, they proceeded with all the 
regularity which has ever characterized the American 
people in discharging the great and important duties 
of self-government. 

" The steamer in which I was a passenger did not 

stop at Monterey ; I therefore did not see General 

Riley, nor had I any communication with him until 
10 G 



124 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

about the middle of the month, when he came to Safc 
Francisco. A few days after my arrival, his procla- 
mation calling a Convention to form a State constitu- 
tion, dated the third of June, was received. 

"The people acted in compliance with what they 
believed to be the views of Congress, and conformably 
to the recommendations of the proclamation ; and pro- 
ceeded, on the day appointed, to elect members to a 
Convention for the purpose of forming a constitution, 
to be regularly submitted to the people for their ratifi- 
cation or rejection, and, if approved, to be presented 
to Congress, with a prayer for the admission of Cali- 
fornia, as a State, into the Union." 

According to the recommendation of General Riley, 
the civil governor of California, an election of delegates 
to form a Convention was held on the 1st of August, 
1849. The number of delegates to be elected was 
thirty-seven. General Riley, General Smith, and 
Thomas Butler King, used every means to stimulate 
the people to hold the preparatory meetings, and they 
were generally successful. But in some districts 
scarcely any move was made until a few days before 
the election. In one or two instances, the election 
was not held upon the day appointed ; but the Con- 
vention nevertheless admitted the delegates elected in 
such cases. 

The Convention was to meet on the 1st of Septem- 
ber, at Monterey ; but it did not get regularly organ- 
ized until the 4th of that month, when Dr. Robert 
Semple, of the Sonoma district, was chosen president. 
The proportion of the native Calif ornian members to 
the American was about equal to that of the popula- 
tion. Among the members was Captain John Sutter, 
the pioneer settler of California, General Valleja an<j 



IHSTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 125 

Antonio Fico, who had both been distinguished men 
in California, before the conquest. The body, as a 
whole, commanded respect, as being dignified and 
intellectual. 

The Declaration of Rights was the first measure 
adopted by the Convention. Its sections being general 
and liberal in their character, were nearly all adopted 
by a unanimous vote. The clause prohibiting the 
existence of slavery was the unanimous sentiment of 
the Convention. The Constitution will be found in 
another part of this work, and we will not here recapitu- 
late its provisions. It combines the best features of the 
Constitutions of the States east of the Rocky Moun- 
tains, and is in most respects similar to that of the 
State of New York. 

The most exciting questions discussed wen% a clause 
prohibiting the entrance of free people of color into 
the State, the boundary line, and the great seal of 
the State. The first, the clause prohibiting the 
entrance of free people of color into the State, 
passed first reading, but was subsequently rejected 
by a large majority. The question of suffrage occa- 
sioned some discussion, widely differing opinions 
being entertained by the members. An article was 
adopted by the Convention, excluding Indians and 
negroes, with their descendants, from the privilege of 
voting ; but it was subsequently modified by a proviso, 
which gave the Legislature power of admitting Indians, 
)r the descendants of Indians to the right of suffrage 
by a two-thirds concurrent vote. Under this provi- 
sion, some of the most wealthy and influential Califor- 
nians are excluded from voting until permitted by the 
Legislature. 

The boundary question, which came up towards tho 



126 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

close of the Convention, was the most exciting theme. 
The point of dispute was the eastern boundary line. 
The Pacific formed the natural boundary on the west ; 
the parallel of 42 degrees, the boundary on the north, 
and the Mexican line, run in conformity with the 
treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the boundary on the 
south. The discussion, reconsideration and voting 
upon the various propositions occupied nearly two 
d&ys. Finally, the line detailed in the Constitution 
was adopted. 

The discussion upon the adoption of the Great Seal 
for the State was amusing. Eight or ten designs were 
offered, and the members from the different districts 
were all anxious to have their particular district repre- 
sented. The choice finally fell upon one offered by a 
Major Garnett. The principal figure is Minerva, with 
spear and shield, emblematic of the manner in which 
California was born, full-grown, into the confederacy. 
At her feet crouches the grizzly bear. Before him is 
the wheat-sheaf and vine, illustrating the agricultural 
products of the country. Near them is the miner, 
with his implements. In the distance is the Bay of 
San Francisco, and beyond that, the Sierra Nevada, 
over which appears the word "Eureka." The closing 
scenes of the Convention are described in graphic and 
vivid colors by one who was an eye-witness to them, 
and recorded them upon the spot.* 

" The members met this morning at the usual hour, 
to perform the last duty that remained to them — that 
of signing the Constitution. They were all in the 
happiest humor, and the morning was so bright and 
balmy that no one seemed disposed to call an organi- 

• Bayard Taylor, El Dorado, or Adventures in the Path of Empire. 



niSTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 127 

Eation. Mr. Semple was sick, and Mr. Steuart, of 
San Francisco, therefore called the meeting to order 
by moving Captain Sutter's appointment in his place. 
The chair was taken by the old pioneer, and the mem- 
bers took their seats around the sides of the hall, 
which still retained the pine-trees and banners, left 
from last night's decorations. The windows and doors 
were open, and a delightful breeze came in from tho 
bay, whose blue waters sparkled in the distance. The 
view from the balcony in front was bright and inspiring. 
The town below — the shipping in the harbor — the 
pine-covered hills behind — were mellowed by the blue 
October haze, but there was no cloud in the sky, and 
I could plainly see, on the northern horizon, the 
mountains of Santa Cruz and the Sierra de Gavilan. 

"After the minutes had been read, the Committee 
appointed to draw up an Address to the people of 
California, was called upon to report, and Mr. Steuart, 
Chairman, read the Address. Its tone and sentiment 
met with universal approval, and it was adopted with- 
out a dissenting voice. A resolution was then offered 
to pay Lieutenant Hamilton, who is now engaged in 
engrossing the Constitution upon parchment, the sum 
of $5C0 for his labor. This magnificent price, proba- 
bly the highest ever paid for a similar service, is on a 
par with all things else in California. As this was 
their last session, the members were not disposed to 
find fault with it, especially when it was stated by one 
of them that Lieutenant Hamilton had written day 
and night to have it ready, and was still working 
upon it, though with a lame and swollen hand. The 
sheet for the signer's names was ready, and the Con- 
vention decided to adjourn for half an hour and then 
meet for the purpose of signing. 



128 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

"I amused myself during the interval by walking 
about the town. Every body knew that the Conven- 
tion was about closing, and it was generally under- 
stood that Captain Burton had loaded the guns at the 
fort, and would fire a salute of thirty-one guns at the 
proper moment. The citizens, therefore, as well as 
the members, were in an excited mood. Monterey 
never before looked so bright, so happy, so full of 
pleasant expectation. 

" About one o'clock the Convention met again ; few 
of the members, indeed, had left the hall. Mr. Scra- 
pie, though in feeble health, called them to order, and, 
after having voted General Riley a salary of $10,000, 
and Mr. Halleck, Secretary of State, $6000 a year, 
from the commencement of their respective offices, 
they proceeded to affix their names to the completed 
Constitution. At this moment a signal was given ; 
the American colors ran up the flag-staff in front of 
the government buildings, and streamed out on the 
air. A second afterward the first gun boomed from 
the fort, and its stirring echoes came back from one 
hill after another, till they were lost in the distance. 

"All the native enthusiasm of Captain Sutter's 
Swiss blood was aroused ; he was the old soldier again. 
He sprang from his seat, and, waving his hand around 
his head, as if swinging a sword, exclaimed ; t Gentle- 
men, this is the happiest day of my life. It makes 
me glad to hear those cannon : they remind me of the 
time when I was a soldier. Yes, I am glad to hear 
them — this is a great day for California !' Then, 
recollecting himself, he sat down, the tears streaming 
from his eyes. The members with one accord, gave 
three tumultuous cheers, which were heard from one 
end of the town to the other, As the signing went 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 129 

on, gun followed gun from the fort, the echoes rever- 
berating grandly around the bay, till finally, as the 
loud ring of the thirty -first was heard, there was a 
shout : * That's for California !' and every one joined 
in giving three times three for the new star added to 
our Confederation. 

" There was one handsome act I must not omit to 
mention. The captain of the English bark Volunteer, 
of Sidney, Australia, lying in the harbor, sent on shore 
in the morning for an American flag. When the first 
gun was heard, a line of colors ran fluttering up to the 
spars, the stars and stripes flying triumphantly from 
the main-top. The compliment was the more marked, 
as some of the American vessels neglected to give any 
token of recognition to the event of the day. 

" The Constitution having been signed and the Con- 
vention dissolved, the members proceeded in a body 
to the house of General Riley. The visit was evidently 
unexpected by the old veteran. When he made his 
appearance, Captain Sutter stepped forward, and 
having shaken him by the hand, drew himself into an 
erect attitude, raised one hand to his breast as if he 
were making a report to his commanding officer on the 
field of battle, and addressed him as follows : 

" ' General : I have been appointed by the dele- 
gates, elected by the people of California to form a 
Constitution, to address you in their names and in 
behalf of the whole people of California, and express 
the thanks of the Convention for the aid and coopera- 
tion they have received from you in the discharge of 
the responsible duty of creating a State government. 
And, sir, the Convention, as you will perceive from 
the official records, duly appreciates the great and 
important services you have rendered to our common 



130 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

country, and especially to the people of California, 
and entertains the confident belief that you will receive 
from the whole of the people of the United States, 
when you retire from your official duties here, that 
verdict so grateful to the heart of the patriot : ' Well 
done, thou good and faithful servant.' 

" General Riley was visibly affected by this mark 
of respect, no less appropriate than well deserved on 
his part. The tears in his eyes, and the plain, blunt 
sincerity of his voice and manner, went to the heart 
of every one present. ' Gentlemen,' he said, < I 
never made a speech in my life. I am a soldier — but 
I can feel; and I do feel deeply the honor you have 
this day conferred upon me. Gentlemen, this is a 
prouder day to me than that on which my soldiers 
cheered me on the field of Contreras. I thank you 
all from my heart. I am satisfied now that the people 
have done right in selecting delegates to frame a Con- 
stitution. They have chosen a body of men upon 
whom our country may look with pride ; you have 
framed a Constitution worthy of California. And I 
have no fear for California while her people choose 
their representatives so wisely. Gentlemen, I con- 
gratulate you upon the successful conclusion of your 
arduous labors ; and I wish you all happiness and 
prosperity.' 

" The General was here interrupted with three hearty 
cheers which the members gave him, as Governor of 
California, followed by three more, ' as a gallant soldier, 
and worthy of his country's glory.' He then con- 
cluded in the following words : i I have but one thing 
to add, gentlemen, and that is, that my success in the 
affairs of California is mainly owing to the efficient 
aid rendered me by Captain Halleck, the Secretary 



HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 131 

of State. Ho has stood by me in all emergencies. 
To him I have always appealed when at a loss myself; 
and he has never failed me.' 

" This recognition of Captain Halleck's talents and 
the signal service he has rendered to our authorities 
here, since the conquest, was peculiarly just and appro- 
priate. It was so felt by the members, and they 
responded with equal warmth of feeling by giving 
three enthusiastic cheers for the Secretary of State. 
They then took their leave, many of them being anxious 
to start this afternoon for their various places of resi- 
dence. All were in a happy and satisfied mood, and 
none less so than the native members. Pedrorena 
declared that this was the most fortunate day in the 
history of California. Even Carillo, in the beginning 
one of our most zealous opponents, displayed a genuine 
zeal for the Constitution, which he helped to frame 
under the laws of our republic." 

The elections for the various officers under the new 
Constitution took place on the 13th of November, 
1849. Peter H. Burnett was chosen Governor, and 
John McDougall, Lieutenant-Governor. George W. 
Wright and Edward Gilbert were chosen to fill the 
posts of representatives in Congress. The first State 
Legislature met at the capital, the pueblo de San 
Jose', on the 15th of December, and elected John C. 
Fremont and Wm. M. Gwin, Senators to Congress. 
Every branch of the civil government went at once 
into operation, and admission into the Union as a 
State seems all that is necessary to complete the settle- 
ment of affairs in California. 



162 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

CHAPTER X. 

POPULATION, CLIMATE, PRODUCTIONS, &C. 

With regard to the population, climate, soil, pro- 
ductions, &c, we extract from Mr. King's Report, aa 
giving the most reliable and complete information. 

" Humboldt, in his 'Essay on New Spain,' states 
the population of Upper California, in 1802, to have 
consisted of 

Converted Indians, . . . 15,562 
Other classes, .... 1,300 



16,862 

" Alexander Forbes, in his ' History of Upper and 
Lower California,' published in London, in 1889, states 
the number of converted Indians in the former to 
have been, in 1831, . . . 18,683 

Of all other classes, at . . . 4,342 



23,025 

" He expresses the opinion that this number had 
not varied much up to 1885, and the probability is, 
there was very little increase in the white population 
until the emigrants from the United States began to 
enter the country in 1838. 

"They increased from year to year, so that, in 
1846, Colonel Fremont had little difficulty in calling 
to his standard some five hundred fighting men. 

" At the close of the war with Mexico, it was sup- 
oosed that there were, including discharged volunteers, 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 133 

from ton to fifteen thousand Americans and Califor- 
nia's, exclusive of converted Indians, in the territory. 
The immigration of American citizens in 1849, up to 
the 1st of January last, was estimated at eighty thou- 
sand — of foreigners, twenty thousand. 

" The population of California may, therefore, be 
safely set down at 115,000 at the commencement of 
the present year. 

" It is quite impossible to form any thing like an 
accurate estimate of the number of Indians in the ter- 
ritory. Since the commencement of the war, and 
especially since the discovery of gold in the mountains, 
their numbers at the missions, and in the valleys near 
the coast, have very much diminished. In fact, the 
whole race seems to be rapidly disappearing. 

" The remains of a vast number of villages in all 
the valleys of the Sierra Nevada, and among the foot- 
hills of that range of mountains, show that at no dis- 
tant day there must have been a numerous population, 
where there is not now an Indian to be seen. There 
are a few still retained in the service of the old Cali- 
fornians, but these do not amount to more than a few 
thousand in the whole territory. It is said there are 
large numbers of them in the mountains and valleys 
about the head-waters of the San Joaquin, along the 
western base of the Sierra, and in the northern part 
of the territory, and that they are hostile. A number 
of Americans were killed by them during the last 
summer, in attempting to penetrate high up the rivers 
in search of gold ; they also drove one or two parties 
from Trinity River. They have, in several instances, 
attacked parties coming from or returning to Oregon, 
m the section of country which the lamented Captain 
Warner was examining when he was killed. 



134 HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 

" It is quite impossible to form any estimate of the 
number of these mountain Indians. Some suppose 
there are as many as three hundred thousand in the 
territory, but I should not be inclined to believe that 
there can be one-third of that number. It is quite 
evident that they are hostile, and that they ought to 
be chastised for the murders already committed. 

"The small bands with whom I met, scattered 
through the lower portions of the foot-hills of the 
Sierra, and in the valleys between them and the coast, 
seemed to be almost the lowest grade of human beings. 
They live chiefly on acorns, roots, insects, and the 
kernel of the pine burr; occasionally, they catch fish 
and game. They use the bow and arrow, but are said 
to be too lazy and effeminate to make successful hun- 
ters. They do not appear to have the slightest incli- 
nation to cultivate the soil, nor do they even attempt 
it — as far as I could obtain information — except when 
they are induced to enter the service of the white 
inhabitants. They have never pretended to hold any 
interest in the soil, nor have they been treated by the 
Spanish or American immigrants as possessing any. 

"The Mexican government never treated with them 
for the purchase of land, or the relinquishment of any 
claim to it whatever. They are lazy, idle to the last 
degree, and, although they are said to be willing to 
give their services to any one who will provide them 
with blankets, beef, and bread, it is with much diffi- 
culty they can be made to perform labor enough to 
reward their employers for these very limited means 
of comfort. 

" Formerly, at the missions, those who were brought 
up and instructed by the priests made very good ser- 
vants. Many of these now attached to families seem 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 135 

to be faithful and intelligent. But those who are at 
all in a wild and uncultivated state are most degraded 
objects of filth and idleness. 

" It is possible that government might, by collecting 
them together, teach them, in some degree, the arts 
and habits of civilization ; but, if we may judge of the 
future from the past, they will disappear from the face 
of the earth as the settlements of the whites extend 
over the country. A very considerable military force 
will be necessary, however, to protect the emigrants in 
the northern and southern portions of the territory." 

So much for the population of California at the 
commencoment of the present year, (1850.) By its 
close, it is highly probable, the number will reach two 
hundred thousand, exclusive of the Indians. Such a 
population, composed, for the most part, of those who 
are impregnated with the active, progressive spirit of 
the American people, will undoubtedly conduct Cali- 
fornia to a brilliant position among the stars of the 
republic. With regard to the climate of the country, 
various conflicting statements have been promulgated, 
which arises from the visits of those who make the 
statements having been made to different portions of 
the country, and stating the climate of a portion as 
the climate of the whole. Mr. King's Beport fur- 
nishes the most accurate account of the changes of 
the temperature, and the state of the atmosphere 
throughout the year^ together with an explanation of 
their causes. He says — 

" I come now to consider the climate. The climate 
of California is so remarkable in its periodical changes, 
and for the long continuance of the wet and dry sea- 
sons, dividing, as they do, the year into about two 
two equal parts, which have a most peculiar influence 



136 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

on the labor applied to agriculture and the products 
of the soil, and, in fact, connect themselves so insepa- 
rably with all the interests of the country, that I deem 
it proper briefly to mention the causes which produce 
these changes, and which, it will be seen, as this report 
proceeds, must exercise a controlling influence on the 
commercial prosperity and resources of the country. 

" It is a well-established theory, that the currents 
of air under which the earth passes in its diurnal 
revolutions, follow the line of the sun's greatest attrac- 
tion. These currents of air are drawn towards this 
line from great distances on each side of it ; and, as 
the earth revolves from west to east, they blow from 
north-east and south-east, meeting, and, of course, 
causing a calm, on the line. 

" Thus, when the sun is directly, in common par- 
lance, over the equator, in the month of March, these 
currents of air blow from some distance north of the 
Tropic of Cancer, and south of the Tropic of Capri- 
corn, in an oblique direction towards this line of the 
sun's greatest attraction, and forming what are known 
as the north-east and south-east trade winds. 

" As the earth, in its path round the sun, gradually 
brings the line of attraction north, in summer, these 
currents of air are carried with it ; so that about the 
middle of May the current from the north-east has 
extended as far as the 38th or 39th degree of north 
latitude, and by the twentieth of June, the period of 
the sun's greatest northern inclination, to the northern 
portions of California and the southern section of 
Oregon. 

" These north-east winds, in their progress across 
the continent, towards the Pacific Ocean, pass over 
the snow-capped ridges of the Rocky Mountains and 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 137 

the Sierra Nevada, and are, of course, deprived of all 
the moisture which can be extracted from them by the 
low temperature of those regions of eternal snow, and 
consequently no moisture can be precipitated from 
them, in the form of dew or rain, in a higher tempera- 
ture than that to which they have been subjected. 
They, therefore, pass over the hills and plains of 
California, where the temperature is very high in 
summer, in a very dry state ; and, so far from being 
charged with moisture, they absorb, like a sponge, ail 
that the atmosphere and surface of the earth can yield, 
until both become, apparently, perfectly dry. 

" This process commences, as I have said, when the 
line of the sun's greatest attraction comes north in 
summer, bringing with it these vast atmospheric 
movements, and, on their approach, produce the dry 
season in California ; which, governed by these laws, 
continues until some time after the sun repasses the 
Equator in September, when, about the middle of 
November, the climate being relieved from these north- 
east currents of air, the south-west winds set in from 
the ocean charged with moisture — the rains commence 
and continue to fall, not constantly, as some persons 
have represented, but with sufficient frequency to 
designate the period of their continuance, from about 
the middle of November until the middle of May, in 
the latitude of San Francisco, as the wet season. 

" It follows, as a matter of course, that the dry 

season commences first, and continues longest in the 

southern portions of the territory, and that the climate 

of the northern part is influenced in a much less 

degree, by the causes which I have mentioned, than 

any other section of the country. Consequently, we 

find that, as low down as latitude 39°, rains are suffi- 
11 



138 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

ciently frequent in summer to render irrigation quite 
unnecessary to the perfect maturity of any crop which 
is suited to the soil and climate. 

" There is an extensive ocean current of cold water, 
which comes from the northern regions of the Pacific, 
or, perhaps, from the Arctic, and flows along the 
coast of California. It comes charged with, and emits 
in its progress, cold air, which appears in the form of 
fog when it comes in contact with a higher tempera- 
ture on the American coast, as the gulf-stream of the 
Atlantic exhales vapor when it meets, in any part of 
its progress, a lower temperature. This current has 
not been surveyed, and, therefore, its source, tempera- 
ture, velocity, width, and course, have not been accu- 
rately ascertained. 

"It is believed, by Lieutenant Maury, on what he 
considers sufficient evidence — and no higher authority 
can be cited — that this current comes from the coasts 
of China and Japan, flows northwardly to the penin- 
sula of Kamtschatka, and, making a circuit to the 
eastward, strikes the American coast in about latitude 
41° or 42°. It passes thence southwardly, and finally 
loses itself in the tropics. 

" Below latitude thirty-nine, and west of the foot- 
hills of the Sierra Nevada, the forests of California 
are limited to some scattering groves of oak in the 
valleys and along the borders of the streams, and of 
red wood on the ridges and in the gorges of the hills 
— sometimes extending into the plains. Some of the 
hills are covered with dwarf shrubs, which may be 
used as fuel. With these exceptions, the whole 
territory presents a surface without trees or shrub- 
bery. It is covered, however, with various species 
of grass, and, for many miles from the coast, with 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 189 

wild oats, which, in the valleys, grow most luxuriantly. 
These grasses and oats mature and ripen early in tho 
dry season, and soon cease to protect the soil from 
the scorching rays of the sun. As the summer ad- 
vances, the moisture in the atmosphere and the earth, 
to a considerable depth, soon becomes exhausted ; 
and the radiation of heat, from the extensive naked 
plains and hill-sides, is very great. 

" The cold, dry currents of air from the north-east, 
after passing the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra 
Nevada, descend to the Pacific, and absorb the moist- 
ure of the atmosphere, to a great distance from the 
land. The cold air from the mountains, and that 
which accompanies the great ocean current from the 
north-west, thus become united ; and vast banks of 
fog are generated, which, when driven by the wind, 
has a penetrating, or cutting, effect on the human 
skin, much more uncomfortable than would be felt in 
the humid atmosphere of the Atlantic, at a much 
lower temperature. 

"As the sun rises from day to day, week after week, 
and month after month, in unclouded brightness dur- 
ing the dry season, and pours down its unbroken rays 
on the dry, unprotected surface of the country, the 
heat becomes so much greater inland than it is on the 
ocean, that an under-current of cold air, bringing the 
fog with it, rushes over the coast range of hills, and 
through their numerous' passes, towards the interior. 

"Every day, as the heat, inland, attains a sufficient 
temperature, the cold, dry wind from the ocean com- 
mences to blow. This is usually from eleven to one 
o'clock ; and, as the day advances, the wind increases 
and continues to blow till late at night. "When the 
vacuum is filled, or the equilibrium of the atmosphere 



140 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

restored, the wind ceases ; a perfect calm prevails 
until about the same hour the following day, when 
the same process commences and progresses as be- 
fore ; and these phenomena are of daily occurrence, 
with few exceptions, throughout the dry season. 

" These cold winds and fogs render the climate at 
San Francisco, and all along the coast of California, 
except the extreme southern portion of it, probably 
more uncomfortable, to those not accustomed to it, in 
summer than in winter. 

"A few miles inland, where the heat of the sun 
modifies and softens the wind from the ocean, the 
climate is moderate and delightful. The heat, in the 
middle of the day, is not so great as to retard labor 
or render exercise in the open air uncomfortable. 
The nights are cool and pleasant. This description 
of climate prevails in all the valleys along the coast 
range, and extends throughout the country, north and 
south, as far eastward as the valley of the Sacramento 
and San Joaquin. In this vast plain, the sea-breeze 
loses its influence, and the degree of heat in the 
middle of the day, during the summer months, is 
much greater than is known on the Atlantic coast in 
the same latitudes. It is dry, however, and probably 
not more oppressive. On the foot-hills of the Sierra 
Nevada, and especially in the deep ravines of the 
streams, the thermometer frequently ranges from 
110° to 115° in the shade, during three or four hours 
of the day, say from eleven until three o'clock. In 
the evening, as the sun declines, the radiation of heat 
ceases. The cool, dry atmosphere from the mountains 
spreads over the whole country, and renders the 
nights cool and invigorating. 

" I have been kindly furnished, by Surgeon-General 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. Ill 

Lawson, U. S. Army, with thermometrical observa- 
tions, taken at the following places in California, 
viz : At San Francisco, by Assistant-Surgeon W. C. 
Parker, for six months, embracing the last quarter of 
1847 and the first quarter of 1848. The monthly 
mean temperature was as follows : October, 57°; 
November, 49°; December, 50°; January, 40°; 
February, 50°; March, 51°. 

" At Monterey, in latitude 36° 88' north and longi- 
tude 121° west, on the coast, about one degree and a 
half south of San Francisco, by Assistant-Surgeon 
W. S. King, for seven months, from May to Novem- 
ber inclusive. The monthly mean temperature was : 
May, 56°; June, 59°; July, 62°; August, 59°; Sep- 
tember, 58°; October, 60°; November, 56°. 

" At Los Angeles, latitude 34° 7', longitude west 
118° 7', by Assistant-Surgeon John S. Griffin, for 
ten months, from June, 1847, to March, 1848, inclu- 
sive. The monthly mean temperature was.: June, 
73°; July, 74°; August, 75°; September, 75°; 
October, 69°; November, 59°; December, 60°; 
January, 58°; February, 55°; March, 58°. This 
place is about forty miles from the coast. 

"At San Diego, latitude 32° 45', longitude west 
117° 11', by Assistant-Surgeon J. D. Summers, for 
the following three months of 1849, viz : July, 
monthly mean temperature, 73°; August 75°; Sep- 
tember, 70°. 

" At Suttersville, on the Sacramento River, latitude 
38° 32' north, longitude west 121° 34', by Assistant- 
Surgeon R. Murray, for the following months of 1849: 
July, monthly mean temperature, 73°; August, 70°; 
September, 65°; October, 65°, 

" These observations show a remarkably high tempe- 



142 HISTOKY OF CALIFORNIA. 

rature at San Francisco during the six months from 
October to March inclusive; a variation of only 
eight degrees in the monthly mean, and a mean 
temperature for tHe six months of 51 degrees. 

" At Monterey, we find the mean monthly tempera- 
ture of the seven months to have been 58°. If we 
take the three summer months, the mean heat was 60°. 
The mean of the three winter months was a little over 
49°; showing a mean difference, on that part of the 
coast, of only 11° between summer and winter. 

" The mean temperature of San Francisco, for the 
three winter months, was precisely the same as at 
Monterey — a little over 49°. 

" As these cities are only one degree and a half 
distant from each other, and both situated near the 
ocean, the temperature at both, in summer, may very 
reasonably be supposed to be as nearly similar as the 
thermometer shows it to be in winter. 

" The mean temperature of July, August, and Sep- 
tember, at San Diego, only 3° 53' south of Monterey, 
was 72°. The mean temperature of the same months 
at Monterey was a little over 59°; showing a mean 
difference of 13°. 

" This would seem to indicate that the cold ocean 
current is thrown off from the southern part of the 
coast by Point Conception, and the islands south of 
it ; and consequently its influence on the climate of 
San Diego is much less than at Monterey and San 
Francisco. 

" At Los Angeles, 40 miles distant from the coast, 
the mean temperature of the three months was 74°; 
of the three autumn months, 67°; of the three 
winter months, 57°. 

"At Suttersville, about one hundred and thirty 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 143 

miles from the ocean, and four degrees north of Los 
Angeles, the mean temperature of August, Septem- 
ber, and October, was 67°. The mean temperature 
of the same months at Monterey was 59°; showing a 
difference of 8° between the sea-coast and the interior, 
on nearly the same parallel of latitude. A much 
greater difference would undoubtedly appear, if we 
had observations for the spring and summer months 
of Suttersville and the gold mines. 

" These variations in the climate of California ac- 
count for the various and conflicting opinions and 
statements respecting it. 

" A stranger arriving at San Francisco in summer is 
annoyed by the cold winds and fogs, and pronounces 
the climate intolerable. A few months will modify, 
if not banish his dislike, and he will not fail to ap- 
preciate the beneficial effects of a cool, bracing atmo- 
sphere. Those who approach California overland, 
through the passes of the mountains, find the heat of 
summer, in the middle of the day, greater than they 
have been accustomed to, and, therefore, may com 
plain of it. 

Those who take up their residence in the valleys 
which are situated between the great plain of the 
Sacramento and San Joaquin and the coast range of 
hills, find the climate, especially in the dry season, as 
healthful and pleasant as it is possible for any climate 
to be which possesses sufficient heat to mature the ce- 
real grains and edible roots of the temperate zone. 

" The division of the year into two distinct seasons 
— dry and wet — impresses those who have been ac- 
customed to the variable climate of the Atlantic 
States unfavorably. The dry appearance of the 
country in summer, and the difficulty of moving about 



144 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

in winter, seem to impose serious difficulties in the 
way of agricultural prosperity, while the many and 
decided advantages resulting from the mildness of 
winter, and the bright, clear weather of summer, are 
not appreciated. These will appear when I come to 
speak of the productions of California. We ought 
not to be surprised at the dislike which the immigrants 
frequently express to the climate. Tt is so unlike 
that from which they come, that they cannot readily 
appreciate its advantages, or become reconciled to its 
extremes of dry and wet. 

"If a native of California were to go to New 
England in winter, and see the ground frozen and 
covered with snow, the streams with ice, and find 
himself in a temperature many degrees colder than 
he had ever felt before, he would probably be as much 
surprised that people could or would live in so in- 
hospitable a region, as any immigrant ever has been 
at what he has seen or felt in California. 

" So much are our opinions influenced by early im- 
pressions, the vicissitudes of the seasons with which 
we are familiar, love of country, home, and kindred, 
that we ought never to hazard a hasty opinion when 
we come in contact with circumstances entirely differ- 
ent from those to which we have all our lives been 
accustomed." 

These remarks explain the reason of the diversity 
of opinion expressed by persons who have visited 
California, in a very satisfactory manner. The Italian 
climate of Los Angeles has received the praises of 
nearly all who have visited that city or its neighbor- 
hood. The themometrical observations detailed in 
the above account seem to prove that much of the un- 
favorable opinions expressed concerning the climate is 



HISTOUY OF CALIFORNIA. 145 

the result of hasty judgment, and a dislike of that 
which is different from that to which we have been 
used. 

The soil of California has also been the subject of 
various and conflicting statements. Many of those 
who have spent some months in the country, and re- 
turned to publish their hastily gathered observations, 
either set down the soil as totally unfit for agricultural 
purposes, or, having been located in some garden spot 
the great portion of their time of residence there, pro- 
nounce it unsurpassed for richness and fertility. As 
Mr. King visited California with the sole object of 
making accurate observations upon the territory and 
its resources, the statements of the character of the 
soil which are given in his report will carry greater 
weight than any other. He says — ■ 

" The valleys which are situated parallel to the 
coast range, and those which extend eastwardly in all 
directions among the hills, towards the great plain of 
the Sacramento, are of unsurpassed fertility. 

" They have a deep black alluvial soil, which has 
the appearance of having been deposited when they 
were covered with water. This idea is strengthened 
by the fact that the rising grounds on the borders of 
these valleys, and many hills of moderate elevation^ 
have a soil precisely like that of the adjoining plains. 

" This soil is so porous that it remains perfectly un- 
broken by gullies, notwithstanding the great quantity 
of water which falls in it annually during the wet 
season. The land in the northern part of the terri- 
tory, on the Trinity and other rivers, and on the bor- 
ders of Clear Lake, as far as it has been examined, is 
said to be remarkably fertile. 

" The great valley of the Sacramento and San 



146 HISTORY JF CALIFORNIA. 

Joaquin has evidently been, at some remote period, 
the bed of a lake ; and those rivers, which drain it, 
present the appearance of having cut their channels 
through the alluvial deposit after it had been formed. 
In fact, it is not possible that they could have been 
instrumental in forming the plain through which they 
pass. Their head-waters come from the extreme ends 
of the valley, north and south : and, were it not for 
the supply of water received from the streams which 
flow into them from the Sierra Nevada, their beds 
would be almost, if not quite, dry in the summer 
months. The soil is very rich, and, with a proper 
system of drainage and embankment, would, undoubt- 
edly, be capable of producing any crop, except sugar- 
cane, now cultivated in the Atlantic States of the 
Union. 

" There are many beautiful valleys and rich hill- 
sides among the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada, which, 
when the profits of labor in mining shall be reduced 
so as to cause its application to agriculture, will pro- 
bably support a large population. There is said to 
be a rich belt of well-timbered and watered country 
extending the whole length of the gold region between 
it and the Sierra Nevada, some twenty miles in width. 
There is no information sufficiently accurate respect- 
ing the eastern slope of the great snowy range to 
enable us to form any opinion of its general character 
or soil. Some of its valleys have been visited by 
miners, who represent them as equal to any portion 
of the country to the westward of it. 

"The great valley of the Colorado, situated between 
the Sierra Madre and the Sierra Nevada, is but little 
known. It is inhabited by numerous tribes of savages, 
who manifest the most decided hostility towards the 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 147 

whites, and have hitherto prevented any cxploiationa 
of their country, and do not permit emigrants to pass 
through it. Therefore, parties from Santa Fd, on 
their way to California, are compelled to make a cir- 
cuit of near a thousand miles northward to the Salt 
Lake, or about the same distance southward by the 
route of the Gila. Although this valley is little known, 
there are indications that it is fertile and valuable. 

" The name of the river ' Colorado' is descriptive 
of its waters ; they are as deeply colored as those of 
the Missouri or Red River, while those of the Gila, 
which we know flows through barren lands, are clear. 

"It would seem impossible for a large river to col- 
lect sediment enough in a sandy, barren soil, to color 
its waters so deeply as to give it a name among those 
who first discovered and have since visited its shores. 
The probability, therefore, is, that this river flows 
through an alluvial valley of great fertility, which has 
never been explored. This conjecture is strengthened 
by the fact that the Indians who inhabit it are hostile, 
aad oppose, as far as they can, all persons who attempt 
to enter or explore it. This has been their uniform 
course of conduct respecting all portions of the conti- 
nent which have been fertile, abounding in game and 
the spontaneous productions of the earth. 

"As this valley is situated in the direct route from 
Santa Fe' to California, its thorough exploration be- 
comes a matter of very great importance, especially 
as it is highly probable that the elevated regions to 
the north of it, covered with snow during most of the 
year, will force the line of the great national railway 
to the Pacific through some portion of it. 

" The soil I have described, situated west of the 
Sierra Nevada, and embracing the plain of the Sacra- 



148 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

mento and San Joaquin, covers an area, as nearly as 
I can estimate, of between fifty and sixty thousand 
square miles, and would, under a proper system of 
cultivation, be capable of supporting a population 
equal to that of Ohio or New York at the present 
time." 

If this account be accurate, the soil of California 
will yield a rich reward to the agriculturist, and be- 
come a strong attraction to permanent settlers, who 
are willing to trust to the more certain returns for 
labor spent in tilling it. It is agriculture, undoubtedly, 
which must give stability to the increase of the coun- 
try, and, whatever may be the value of the gold mines, 
furnish California with her substantial wealth. Few 
cities or towns ever had a permanent prosperity which 
had not a neighboring country fit for agricultural 
purposes. 

The quantity and quality of the present productions 
of California, other than her mineral wealth, is an 
important subject for inquiry. Previous to the dis- 
covery of the gold, the exportable products consisted 
almost exclusively of hides and tallow ; the inhabitants 
paying more attention to the raising of horses and 
cattle than to the cultivation of the soil. The reason 
is found in the general characteristic of the Califor- 
nians — indolence. Horses were raised to gratify 
their passion for riding; and cattle, because they 
afforded a subsistence at a very small cost of labor. 
As to what are, and what, by the character of the 
soil and climate, might be, the products of California, 
and how the wants of the people are to be supplied, 
we quote Mr. King's remarks: 

" Beef cattle, delivered on the navigable waters of 
the Bay of San Francisco, are now worth from $20 to 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA 143 

$30 per head; horses, formerly worth from $5 to 
$10, are now valued at $60 to $150. The destruc- 
tion of cattle for their hides and tallow has now entirely 
ceased, in consequence of the demand for beef. This 
demand, will, of course, increase with the population ; 
and it would seem that, in a very few years, there 
will be none to supply the market. 

" If we estimate the number of cattle now in Cali- 
fornia at 500,000 head, which is believed to be about 
the number, and the population at 120,000 for the year 
1850— a low estimate — and suppose it to increase one 
hundred thousand per annum, there will be in the 
Territory or State, in 1854, five hundred and twenty 
thousand people. 

" If we adopt the estimate of those well acquainted 
with the demand, of half a beef, on an average, to 
each inhabitant, it appears there will be a consump- 
tion, in 1850, of 60,000 head ; in 1851, of 110,000; 
in 1852, of 160,000 ; in 1853, of 210,000 ; in 1854, 
of 260,000— making an aggregate of 800,000, which 
would absorb all the present stock, with its natural 
increase. 

" This is a very important matter, as connected with 
the amount of supply which that country will ultimately 
require from the Atlantic States of the Union. There 
is no other country on earth which has, or will ever 
possess, the means of supplying so great a demand. 

" It is now a well-established fact among the immi- 
grants to California, that oxen possess greater power3 
of endurance than mules or horses; that they will 
perform the distance with loaded wagons in less time, 
and come in at the end of the journey in better con- 
dition. 

u Cows are now driven in considerable numbers 



150 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

from Missouri, and the time cannot be far distant 
when cattle from the Western States will be driven 
annually by tens of thousands to supply this new 
market. 

"If California increases in population as fast as 
the most moderate estimate would lead us to believe, 
it will not be five years before she will require more 
than one hundred thousand head of beef cattle per 
annum, from some quarter, to supply the wants of her 
people. 

" It must not be supposed that salt provisions may 
supply this vast demand. Those who have attempted 
to live on such food, during the dry season, have been 
attacked with scurvy and other cutaneous diseases, of 
which many have died. 

" There is no climate in the world where fresh meat 
and vegetables are more essential to human health. 
In fact, they are indispensable. 

" It must not be inferred that cattle driven across 
the plains and mountains, from the Western States, 
will be fit for beef on their arrival in California. But 
one winter and spring, on the luxuriant pastures of 
that country, will put them in a condition which would 
render them acceptable in any Atlantic market. 

" These grazing grounds are extensive enough to 
support five times as many cattle as may be annually 
required ; therefore, there will be no scarcity of food 
for them. 

"I am acquainted with a drover who left California 
in December last, with the intention of bringing in 
ten thousand sheep from New Mexico. This shows 
that the flocks and herds east of the Rocky Mountains 
are looked to already as the source from which the 
markets on the Pacific are to be supplied. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 151 

" The climate and soil of California arc we'll suited 
to the growth of wheat, barley, rye, and oats. The 
temperature along the coast is too cool for the success- 
ful culture of maize as a field crop. The fact that 
oats, the species which is cultivated in the Atlantic 
States, are annually self-sowed and produced on all 
the plains and hills along the coast, and as far inland 
as the sea-breeze has a marked influence on the climate, 
is sufficient proof that all the cereal grains may be 
successfully cultivated without the aid of irrigation. 

" It is quite true that this auxiliary was extensively 
employed at the missions, and undoubtedly increased 
the product of all crops to which it was applied, as it 
will in any country on earth if skilfully used. This 
does not prove, however, that it was essentially neces- 
sary to the production of an ample reward to the 
husbandman. The experience of all the old inhabit- 
ants is sufficient evidence of this. If their imperfect 
mode of culture secured satisfactory returns, it is 
reasonable to presume that a more perfect system 
would produce much greater results. There is abun- 
dant evidence to prove that, in the rich alluvial valleys, 
wheat and barley have produced from forty to sixty 
bushels from one bushel of seed, without irrigation. 

" Irish potatoes, turnips, onions, in fact all the edible 
roots known and cultivated in the Atlantic States, are 
produced in great perfection. In all the valleys east 
of the coast range of hills, the climate is sufficiently 
warm to mature crops of Indian corn, rice, and pro- 
bably tobacco. 

" The cultivation of the grape has attracted much 
attention at the missions, among the residents of 
towns, and the rural population, and been attended 
with much success, wherever it has been attempted. 



152 HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA- 

The dry season secures the fruit from those diseases 
which are so fatal in the Atlantic States, and it attains 
very great perfection. 

" The wine made from it is of excellent quality, very 
palatable, and can be produced in any quantity. The 
grapes are delicious, and produced with very little 
labor. When taken from the vines in bunches, and 
suspended in a dry room by the stems, they become 
partially dry, retain their flavor, and remain several 
weeks, perhaps months, without decay. 

"Apples, pears, and peaches are cultivated with 
facility, and there is no reason to doubt that all the 
fruits of the Atlantic States can be produced in great 
plenty and perfection. 

" The grasses are very luxuriant and nutritious, 
affording excellent pasture. The oats, which spring 
up the whole length of the sea-coast, and from forty 
to sixty miles inland, render the cultivation of that 
crop entirely unnecessary, and yield a very great 
quantity of nutritious food for horses, cattle, and 
sheep. The dry season matures, and I may say 
cures, these grasses and oats, so that they remain in 
an excellent state of preservation during the summer 
and autumn, and afford an ample supply of forage. 
While the whole surface of the country appears 
parched, and vegetation destroyed, the numerous flocks 
and herds which roam over it continue in excellent 
condition. 

" Although the mildness of the winter months, and 
the fertility of the soil, secure to California very 
decided agricultural advantages, it is admitted that 
irrigation would be of very great importance, and 
necessarily increase the products of the soil, in quan- 
tity and variety, during the greater part of the dry 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 153 

season. It should, therefore, bo encouraged by 
government, in the survey and disposition of the 
public lands, as far as practicable. 

" The farmer derives some very important benefits 
from the dry season. His crops in harvest time are 
never injured by rain ; he can with perfect confidence 
permit them to remain in his fields as long after they 
have been gathered as his convenience may require ; 
he has no fears that they will be injured by wet or 
unfavorable weather. Hence it is that many who 
have long been accustomed to that climate prefer it to 
the changeable weather east of the Rocky Mountains. 

" As already stated, the forests of California, south 
of latitude 39°, and west of the foot-hills of the 
Sierra Nevada, are limited to detached, scattering 
groves of oak in the valleys, and of red wood on the 
ridges and on the gorges of the hills. 

" It can be of no practical use to speculate on the 
causes which have denuded so large an extent of coun- 
try, further than to ascertain whether the soil is or is 
not favorable to the growth of forest trees. 

" When the dry season sets in, the entire surface is 
covered with a luxuriant growth of grass and oats, 
which, as the summer advances, become perfectly dry. 
The remains of all dead trees and shrubs also become 
dry. These materials, therefore, are very combustible, 
and usually take fire in the latter part of summer and 
beginning of autumn, which commonly passes over the 
whole country, destroying, in its course, the young 
shrubs and trees. In fact, it seems to be the same 
process which has destroyed or prevented the growth 
of forest trees on the prairies of the Western States, 
and not any quality in the soil unfriendly to their 
growth. 12 H * 



154 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

" The absence of timber and the continuance of the 
dry season are apt to be regarded by farmers, on first 
going into the country, as irremediable defects, and as 
presenting obstacles, almost insurmountable, to the 
successful progress of agriculture. A little experience 
will modify these opinions. 

" It is soon ascertained that the soil will produce 
abundantly without manure ; that flocks and herds 
sustain themselves through the winter without being 
fed at the farm-yard, and, consequently, no labor is 
necessary to provide forage for them ; that ditches are 
easily dug, which present very good barriers for the 
protection of crops, until live fences can be planted, 
and have time to grow. Forest trees may be planted 
with little labor, and in very few years attain a suffi 
cient size for building and fencing purposes. Time 
may be usefully employed in sowing various grain and 
root crops during the wet or winter season. There is 
no weather cold enough to destroy root crops, and, 
therefore, it is not necessary to gather them. They 
can be used or sold from the field where they grow. 
The labor, therefore, required in most of the old 
States to fell the forests, clear the land of rubbish, 
and prepare it for seed, may here be applied to other 
objects. 

" All these things, together with the perfect security 
of all crops in harvest time, from injury by wet 
weather, are probably sufficient to meet any expense 
which may be incurred in irrigation, or caused, for a 
time, by a scanty supply of timber. 

" In the northern part of the territory, above lati- 
tude 39°, and on the hills which rise from the great 
plain of the Sacramento and San Joaquin to the foot 
of the Sierra Nevada, the forests of timber are beau- 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 155 

t.iful and extensive, and would, if brought into use, be 
sufficiently productive to supply the wants of the 
southern and western portions of the State." 

It is not to be expected that the labor and attention 
necessary for the improvement of the soil will be given 
to that object, so long as the continued discovery 
of gold and other metals promise an easy road to 
wealth. Many who were prosperously engaged in 
agricultural employments, in the most fertile regions, 
have abandoned it, lured by the golden bait, and 
shouldered the pick and shovel to try their luck or 
perseverance at gold digging. The gardens and the 
vineyards of Los Angeles have been deserted for the 
barren hills and ravines where the precious dust 
abounds. In this state of things, California must 
become an extensive market for the products of the 
Atlantic States of the Union. 

The extent and value of the public domain, and 
the validity of the titles to various tracts of land in 
California, will, doubtless, be the cause of much liti- 
gation and disturbance, as the country becomes more 
thickly settled. The relation in which the claimants of 
land granted to them under the Mexican government, 
stand towards the government of the United States, 
is clearly and fully set forth by Mr. King, in his Cali- 
fornia report. He says — 

" It is not known whether the Jesuits who founded 
the mission, or their successors the Franciscans, ever 
did, or do now, hold any title from the Spanish crown 
to the lands which they occupied. Nor has any in- 
vestigation been made to ascertain how far those 
titles, if they ever existed, have been invalidated by 
the acts of the priests, or the decrees of the Mexican 
government. 



156 HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 

** A superficial view of the matter would be very apt 
to lead to the supposition that the Jesuits, so cele- 
brated for wisdom and cunning, would not fail to 
secure that which, at that time, would probably have 
been obtained by merely asking for it — a royal decree, 
granting to them all the lands they might require in 
that remote country for ecclesiastical purposes. There 
have been some intimations to that effect, but nothing 
is distinctly known. These missions embrace within 
their limits some of the most valuable lands in the 
Territory, and it is very important that it should be 
ascertained whether they belong to the Government, 
or may be justly claimed by individals. 

" Most of the land fit for cultivation, south of lati- 
tude 39°, and west of the valley of the Sacramento 
and San Joaquin, is claimed under what purport to 
be grants from the Mexican government. 

" On most of these grants, the minerals and metals 
are reserved to the government : conditions were 
coupled with many of them which have not been com- 
plied with. In others, the boundaries described em- 
brace two or three times as much land as the grant 
conveys. 

" The Mexican law required all grants made by the 
provincial government, with few exceptions, to be 
confirmed by the supreme government. The great 
distance which separated them, and the unfrequent or 
difficult means of communication, made a compliance 
with the law so expensive and tardy that it came to be 
almost disregarded. 

" There were other causes which led to this neglect. 

" Previous to the treaty with Mexico and the immi- 
gration of American citizens to that country, land 
was not regarded as of much value, except for grazing 



niSTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 157 

purposes. There was room enough for all. Thsrc- 
fore, the claimants or proprietors did not molest one 
another, or inquire into the validity of titles. 

" These extensive grants are described by natural 
boundaries, such as mountains, bays, and promontories, 
which, in many instances, might allow of a variation 
of several miles in the establishment of a corner with 
chain and compass. 

"By. the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the United 
States purchased all the rights and interests of 
Mexico to and in California. This purchase not only 
embraced all the lands which had not been granted 
by Mexico, but all the reserved minerals and metals, 
and also reversionary rights which might accrue to 
Mexico from a want of compliance on the part of the 
grantees with the conditions of their grants, or a ivant 
of 'perfection in the grants. 

" It will be perceived that this is a subject of very 
great importance, not only to the people of California, 
but to the United States, and calls for prompt and 
efficient action on the part of the Government. It is 
believed that the appointment of competent commis- 
sioners, fully empowered to investigate these titles, in 
a spirit of kindness towards the claimants, with 
power to confirm such titles as- justice may seem to 
demand, or with instructions to report their proceed- 
ings and awards to Congress, for confirmation or 
rejection, will be the best and perhaps the only satis- 
factory mode of adjusting this complex and difficult 
question." 

He also makes the following observations and re- 
commendations concerning the extent and value of 
the land, to which the title of the government is un- 
questionable, and the best mode of improving it. 



158 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

" The lands in the northern part of the Territory, 
above the 39°, have not been explored or granted, 
They are supposed to embrace an area of about twenty 
millions of acres, a large portion of which is doubt- 
less valuable for its timber and soil. 

" Comparatively few grants have been obtained in 
the great valley of the Sacramento and San Joaquin. 

" This vast tract, therefore, containing, as is esti- 
mated, from twelve to fifteen millions of acres, belongs 
mostly to the Government. South of this valley, and 
west of the Colorado, within the limits of California, 
as indicated in her Constitution, there are said to be 
extensive tracts of valuable, unappropriated land ; 
and, on investigation, it will probably appear that 
there are many of them in detached bodies, which 
have not been granted. 

"I do not speak of the gold region, embracing the 
entire foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada, some five 
hundred miles long and sixty miles broad, in connec- 
tion with the public domain, which may be embraced 
in the general land system for sale and settlement, 
for reasons which will be hereafter assigned. 

" The survey of the public lands on a system suited 
to the interests of the country is a matter of very 
great importance. In the inhabited portions of the 
Territory, the boundaries of Mexican grants, running 
as they do in all directions, will render the system of 
surveys by parallels of latitude and longitude quite 
impracticable. 

" In all parts of the country, irrigation is desirable, 
and its benefits should be secured, as far as possible, 
by suitable surveys and legal regulations. Most of 
the valleys are watered by streams sufficiently large 
to be rendered very useful. It would, therefore, seem 



IIISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 159 

vristi to lay off the land in con form ity to the course 
of the hills and streams which bound and drain the 
valleys. 

"A system of drainage, which would also secure 
irrigation, is absolutely necessary to give value to the 
great plain of the Sacramento and San Joaquin. 
This valley is so extensive and level that, if the rivers 
passing through it were never to overflow their banks, 
the rain which falls in winter would render the greater 
portion of it unfit for cultivation. The foundation of 
such a system can only be established in the survey 
and sale of the land. 

" This can be done by laying out canals and drains, 
at suitable distances, and in proper directions, and 
by leaving wide margins to the rivers, that they may 
have plenty of room to increase their channels 
when their waters shall be confined within them by 
embankments. 

" It would be well also to regulate the price of 
these lands, so as to meet, in some degree, the ex- 
pense of draining them. 

" This system would, when agriculture shall become 
a pursuit in California, make this valley one of the 
most beautiful and productive portions of the Union." 

With regard to the present state of the commerce 
and of the commercial resources of California, it is 
observed, that her resources are confined almost 
entirely to the metallic wealth of the country, and that 
such a state of things would seem unfavorable to an 
extensive commercial intercourse. Undoubtedly, this 
metallic wealth of itself, could not long maintain an 
extensive commerce with the various nations of the 
earth. But when the mineral wealth begins to be 
developed, as it soon will, there wdl be no lack of 



160 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

return freights for vessels arriving with supplies. 
The quicksilver mines already yield an enormous 
profit, and will soon be extensively worked. Respect- 
ing the present state of the commerce of the country, 
extent of her resources, and facilities of communica- 
tion with the Atlantic States of the Union, and other 
countries, Mr. King's Report furnishes the following 
account — 

" Gold is the product of the country, and is imme- 
diately available, in an uncoined state, for all the 
purposes of exchange. It is not there, as in other 
countries, where the productions of the earth and of 
art are sent to markets — foreign or domestic — to be 
exchanged for the precious metals, or other articles 
of value. There, gold not only supplies the medium 
of domestic trade, but of foreign commerce. 

" At first view, this state of things would seem ta 
be unfavorable to an extensive intercourse with other 
parts of the world, because of the want of return 
freights of home production for the vast number of 
vessels which will arrive with supplies. 

" These vessels, however, making no calculations 
on return cargoes, will estimate the entire profits of 
the voyage on their outward freights, and become, on 
their arrival, willing carriers for a comparatively small 
consideration. 

" This tendency in the course of trade, it would 
seem, must make San Francisco a warehouse for the 
supply, to a certain extent, of all the ports of the 
Pacific, American, Asiatic, and the Islands. 

" Almost every article now exported by them finds 
a ready market in California, and the establishment 
of a mint will bring there also the silver bullion, 
amounting to more than ten millions per annum, from 



IHSTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 161 

the west coast of Mexico, and, perhaps, ultimately 
from Chili and Peru, to be assayed and coined. 

" Vessels bound round Cape Horn, with cargoes for 
markets on the American coast of the Pacific, can, by 
taking ^advantage of the south-east trade winds, and 
4 standing broad-off the Cape,-' make the voyage to 
San Francisco in as short a time as they can to 
Valparaiso, or any port south of California. Vessels 
have sailed from our Atlantic ports to San Francisco 
in less than one hundred days, and they have been, 
in more than one instance, over one hundred and 
twenty days in going from Panama to San Francisco. 

" This astonishing difference in time and distance 
was caused by the course of the winds, and the gulf- 
stream of the Pacific, mentioned in my remarks on the 
climate of California. 

" The vessels from our Atlantic ports took advan- 
tage of the winds by steering from the Cape as far 
into the Pacific as to be enabled to take a course west 
of the gulf-stream in sailing northward, thus availing 
themselves first of the south-east, then of the north- 
east ' trades,' and avoiding opposing currents. 

" The vessels from Panama were kept back by 
calms, adverse winds, and currents. It will be per- 
ceived, therefore, that there can be no inducement for 
vessels bound round Cape Horn, with mixed or 
assorted cargoes, to stop at Valparaiso, Callao, Guaya- 
quil, or any port on the west coast, because the ex- 
ports of all those places will seek a market at San 
Francisco ; and their supply of merchandise, as return 
freight, will be delivered at less expense than it can 
be by vessels direct from Atlantic ports, American o r 
European. This tendency of trade to concentrate at 
San Francisco will be aided by the course of exchange. 



162 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

Ck Gold dust is worth but $17 per ounce in Chili. It 
is worth $18 at the United States mint. If, there- 
fore, a merchant of Valparaiso has ten thousand 
ounces in San Francisco, received in payment for 
lumber, barley, flour, or other produce, and desires an 
invoice of goods from the United States or Europe, 
he will gain $10,000 at the outset by sending his 
gold to New York, besides saving something on the 
freight and insurance, and at least one month's 
interest. 

" The countries on the west coast of America have 
no exports which find a market in China, or other 
parts of Asia. San Francisco will, therefore, become 
not only the mart of these exports, but also of the 
products and manufactures of India, required in ex- 
change for them, which must be paid for, principally, 
in gold coin or gold dust. Neither gold coin nor gold 
dust will answer as a remittance to China. Gold, in 
China, is not currency in any shape, nor is it received 
in payment of import duties, or taxes on land, or on 
the industry of the people. 

" The value of pure gold in China is not far from 
$14 the ounce. Hence, the importer of manufactures 
and products of India into San Francisco will remit 
the gold coin or dust direct to New York, for invest- 
ment in sterling bills on London. These bills will be 
sent to London, and placed to the credit of the firm 
in China from whom the merchandise has been 
received, and who, on learning of the remittance 
having gone forward to their agents, will draw a six 
months sight bill for the amount, which will sell in 
China at the rate of four shillings and tivo pence or 
three pence per dollar. 

" I have a statement before me from one of the 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 103 

most eminent merchants and bankers of New York, 
who was for many years engaged extensively in the 
India trade, which shows that the profit or gain on 
ten thousand ounces of gold, thus remitted, would 
be $33,484 44 

And that the loss on the same quantity, 

sent direct to China, would be . 15,600 00 



Total difference in profit and loss in favor 

of the remittance to New York, . $50,034 44 

" It will thus be perceived that nature has so 
arranged the winds and currents of the Pacific, and 
disposed of her vast treasures in the hills and moun- 
tains of California, as to give to the harbor of San 
Francisco the control of the commerce of that ocean, 
as far as it may be connected with the west coast of 
America. 

" Important as the commerce of the Pacific un- 
doubtedly is, and will be, to California, it cannot now, 
nor will it ever compare in magnitude and value to 
the domestic trade between her and the older States 
of the Union. 

" Two years ago, California did not probably con- 
tain more than fifteen thousand people. That portion 
of it which has since been so wonderfully peopled by 
American citizens was, comparatively, without inhabi- 
tants, without resources, and not supplied with the 
common comforts of shelter afforded by a forest 
country. 

"Notwithstanding the great distances immigrants 
have been compelled to travel to reach the territory, 
more than one hundred thousand have overcome all 
difficulties and spread themselves over its hills and 
plains. They have been supplied from distances as 



164 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

great as they themselves have passed with not only 
the necessaries, but the comforts and many of the 
luxuries of life. Houses have been imported from 
China, Chili, and the Atlantic States of the Union. 
All the materials . required in building cities and 
towns have been added to the wants of a people 
so numerous, destitute, and remote from the sources of 
supply. 

" These wants will exist as long as immigration con- 
tinues to flow into the country, and labor employed in 
collecting gold shall be more profitable than its appli- 
cation to agriculture, the mechanic arts, and the great 
variety of pursuits which are fostered and sustained 
in other civilized communities. 

" This may be shown by mentioning the prices of a 
few articles. Last summer and autumn, lumber was 
sold in San Francisco at $300 to $400 per thousand 
feet. At Stockton and Sacramento City, at $500 to 
$600. At these prices, it could be made in the terri- 
tory, and many persons were engaged in the business. 
I perceive, by recent accounts, that the price had 
fallen at San Francisco to $75. At this price, it 
cannot be made where labor is from $10 to $15 per 
day; and the difficulties attending its manufacture 
are much greater than in the^Atlantic States. Lumber 
can be delivered in our large lumber markets for an 
ai?rage of the various qualities of $16, and freighted 
to San Francisco for $24, making $40 per thousand 
feet. This price would cause the manufacture of it in 
California to be abandoned. We may add $20 per 
thousand, to meet any increase of price in the article 
itself, or in the freight, and the result would be the 
same. 

" It is probable that the demand, for several yeara 



HISTORY- OF CALIFORNIA. 165 

to come, will not be less than twenty millions of feet 
per annum, which, at $40 per thousand, will bo 
$800,000. 

" When California comes to have a population of 
200,000, which she will have before the close of the 
present year, she will require nearly half a million 
barrels of flour from some quarter, and no country 
can supply it so good and cheap as the old States of 
the Union. Including freight and insurance^ this 
may be set down as an item of about $5,000,000. The 
article of clothing, allowing $20 to each person, would 
be $4,000,000. 

" There is no pretension to accuracy in these items, 
and they may be estimated too high ; but it is quite 
as probable they are too low. 

"We have no data on which to found a calculation 
of what the value of the trade between the States east 
of the Rocky Mountains and California will be during 
the current year. I will venture the opinion, how- 
ever, that it will not fall short of twenty-five millions 
of dollars. It may go far beyond that sum. At 
present, I can conceive no cause which will retard or 
diminish immigration. 

" If the movement shall continue five years, our 
commerce with that territory may reach one hundred 
millions per annum. This is doubtless a startling 
sum ; but it must be borne in mind that we have to 
build cities and towns, supply machinery for mining, 
coal for domestic purposes, and steam navigation, and 
all the multifarious articles used in providing the com- 
forts and luxuries of life, for half a million of people,^ 
who will have transferred themselves to a country 
which is to produce, comparatively, nothing except 
minerals and the precious metals, and whose pursuits 



1G6 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

will enable them to purchase, at any cost, whatever 
may be necessary for their purposes. 

" It is difficult to imagine or calculate the effect 
which will be produced on all the industrial pursuits 
of the people of the Old States of the Union, by 
this withdrawal from them of half a million of pro- 
ducers, who, in their new homes and new pursuits, 
will give existence to a commerce almost equal in 
value to our foreign trade. Let no one, therefore, 
suppose he is not interested in the welfare of Cali- 
fornia. As well may he believe his interests would 
not be influenced by closing our ports and cutting off 
intercourse with all the world. 

" The distance round Cape Horn is so great that 
bread-stuffs and many other articles of food deterio- 
rate, and many others are so perishable in their nature 
that they would decay on the passage. This would 
be the case particularly with all kinds of vegetables 
and undried fruits. Until some more speedy mode 
of communication shall be established by which pro- 
duce can be transferred, the farmers and planters of 
the old States will not realize the full value of this 
new market on the Pacific. 

" Many other important interests will be kept 
back, especially the consumption of coal. The 
American steamers, now on that ocean, those on their 
way there, and others shortly to be sent out, will con- 
sume not far from one hundred thousand tons of coal 
per annum. The scarcity of wood in California will 
bring coal into general use as fuel, as soon as it can 
be obtained at reasonable prices. Suppose there may 
be, three years hence, forty thousand houses, which 
shall consume five tons each per annum. This, with 
the steamers, would be a consumption of three hundred 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 16^ 

thousand tons. If delivered at $20 per ton, it would 
compete successfully with the coal from Vancouver's 
Island and New Holland, and amount to $6,000,000. 

" The construction of a railroad across the Isthmus 
of Panama would secure the market for those articles 
against all competition. 

" Some idea may be formed of the demand for them 
from the prices paid in San Francisco last autumn. 
Coal was sold at $60 to $100 per ton ; potatoes $16 
per bushel ; turnips and onions for 25 to 62J cents 
each ; eggs from $10 to $12 per dozen. 

" The distance from Chagres to New York has 
recently been run in seven days. The same speed 
would carry a steamboat from Panama to San Fran- 
cisco in ten days. Allow three days to convey freight 
across the Isthmus, on a railway, and both passengers 
ind freight will be conveyed from New York to San 
Francisco in twenty days. 

" This celerity of movement would secure for 
American produce the entire market of California. 
Sailing vessels may be successfully employed between 
our Atlantic and gulf ports and the terminus of the 
railway on this side of the Isthmus ; and propellers 
from Panama to San Francisco. These latter vessels 
will be found peculiarly suited to that trade ; they 
can use their steam through the calms of the Bay of 
Panama, and against head- winds and currents going 
north, and their sails with favorable winds and cur- 
rents coming south. 

" These modes of conveyance, in connection with 
the railroad across the Isthmus, would be sufficiently 
expeditious and economical to turn the tide of com- 
merce, between the Atlantic and Pacific States of the 
Union, into that channel. The tendency of our 



168 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

commerce on the Pacific to promote the employment 
of ocean steamers is of much importance as connected 
with the defence of our extensive line of coast from 
latitude 32° to 49 °, the protection of the whale 
fishery, and other branches of trade on that ocean. 
The establishment of a line of heavy steamers to 
China would promote all these objects ; increase our 
intercourse with that country, and probably be the 
means of opening communications with Japan. Money 
wisely employed in promoting these objects, it ia 
believed, would add more to the power and prosperity 
of the country than its expenditure on any general 
system of fortification at the present prices of labor 
and materials. There is one point, however, of such 
vast importance that no time should be lost in taking 
the necessary steps to render it perfectly impregnable 
— that is, the entrance to the harbor of San Francisco. 
On the strength of the works which may be erected 
to defend that passage will depend the safety of Cali- 
fornia in time of war with a maritime power. Permit 
a hostile fleet to cast anchor in the harbor of San 
Francisco, and the country would be virtually con- 
quered. 

" The coast has not been surveyed, nor has its out- 
line been correctly ascertained. There are many 
rocks above and below the water-line, and small 
islands not mentioned or indicated on any chart, which 
render navigation near the land, especially at night, 
extremely dangerous. 

" An accurate survey of the coast, to commence at 
the most important points, the construction of light- 
houses, and the placing of buoys in proper positions, 
are objects of much importance, and, it is not doubted, 
will attract the early attention of Government." 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 169 

We come now to that which has built up so rapidly 
this empire of the Pacific — the metallic and mineral 
wealth of California. As to the oxtent of the region, 
and indications of the existence of the gold, together 
with the attendant geological formations, the state- 
ments of Mr. King's report will not be, nor have not 
been, gainsayed ; but as to the origin of the gold, 
whether in combination with quartz, or mixed with 
the sands of the ravines and streams, various opinions 
have been expressed by those who have spent consi- 
derable time in working and observing the different 
formations. That due weight may be given to both 
of the principal theories, we extract the observation 
and opinion of a person who favors the idea of the 
gold having been scattered over the country, by a 
tremendous volcanic eruption. 

"The gold found in every placer in California 
bears the most indubitable marks of having, at some 
time, been in a molten state. In many parts it is 
closely intermixed with quartz, into which it has evi- 
dently been injected while in a state of fusion ; and I 
have myself seen many pieces of gold completely 
coated with a black cement that resembled the lava 
of a volcano. The variety of form, which the placer 
gold of California has assumed, is in itself sufficient 
evidence of the fact, that it has been thrown over the 
surface while in a melted state. The earliest compa 
risons of the California gold were to pieces of molten 
lead dropped into water. The whole territory of the 
gold region bears the plainest and most distinct marks 
of being volcanic. The soil is of a red, brick color, in 
many places entirely barren, and covered with a flinty 
rock, or pebble, entirely parched in the summer, and 
during the rainy season becoming a perfect mire. The 



170 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

formation of the hills, the succession of gorges, the 
entire absence of fertility in many portions, distinctly 
exhibit the result of a great up-heaving during past 
times. But there is one phenomenon in the mining 
region which defies all geological research founded 
upon any other premises than volcanic formation. 
Throughout the "whole territory, so generally that it 
ha6 become an indication of the presence of gold, a 
white slate rock is found, and is the principal kind of 
rock in the mining region. This rock, instead of 
lying as slate rock does in other portions of the earth, 
in horizontal strata, is perpendicular, or nearly so; 
seeming to have been torn up from its very bed and 
left in this position. On the banks of the Middle 
Fork are several excavations, which can only be ac- 
counted for upon the supposition, that they were at 
some time volcanic craters. There is one of these on 
the mountain side, about five miles below the " Big 
Bar;" from which, running down to the base of the 
mountains, is a wide gorge entirely destitute of ver- 
dure, while the earth around it is covered with shrub- 
bery. This, I am fully convinced, was the bed of the 
lava stream that was thrown up from the crater ; and 
in searching for gold at the very foot of it, I found 
several pieces entirely covered with the black cement 
or lava, of which I have previously spoken. From 
all these evidences, I am fully satisfied that at some 
early date in the world's history, by some tremendous 
volcanic eruption, or by a succession of them, gold, 
which was existing in the form of ore, mixed with 
quartz rock, was fused and separated from its sur- 
rounding substances, and scattered through every 
plain, hill, and valley, over an immense territory. By 
its own gravity, and the continual washing of the 




LIFE AT THE "DIGGINGS," SUPPER TIMS. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 171 

rains, it sank into the earth until it reached a rock, 
or hard, impenetrable clay. It still continued wash 
ing and sliding down the hill-side, until it reached the 
rivers or ravines, and in the former was washed along 
with its current until it settled in some secure place 
in their beds, or was deposited upon their banks ; and 
in the latter rested among the crevices of rocks."* 

The following from Mr. King's report, presents the 
opposite theory, with its evidence in full. The two 
accounts are at variance both in regard to fact and 
theory. But that of Mr. King, who enjoyed every 
facility of obtaining information from observation, and 
from the statements of intelligent miners, is considered 
most reliable, in respect to matters of fact, and, there- 
fore, of more dependence in forming a theory. He 
says — 

" The principal formation, or substratum, in these 
hills, is talcose slate; the superstratum, sometimes 
penetrating to a great depth, is quartz. This, how- 
ever, does not cover the entire face of the country, 
but extends in large bodies in various directions — is 
found in masses and small fragments on the surface, 
and seen along the ravines and in the mountains, 
overhanging the rivers, and in the hill-sides in its 
original beds. It crops out in the valleys and on the 
tops of the hills, and forms a striking feature of the 
entire country over which it extends. From innumer- 
able evidences and indications, it has come to be the 
universally admitted opinion, among the miners and 
intelligent men who have examined this region, that 
the gold, whether in detached particles and 'pieces, or 
in veins, was created in combination with the quartz, 

♦ Six Months in the Gold Mines, by E. Gould Buffum. 



1T2 HISTORY OJF CALIFORNIA, 

Gold is not found on the surface of the country 
presenting the appearance of having been thrown up 
and scattered in all directions by volcanic action. It 
is only found in particular localities, and attended by 
peculiar circumstances and indications. It is found 
in the bars and shoals of the rivers ; in ravines, and 
in what are called the ' dry diggings/ 

" The rivers, in forming their channels, or breaking 
their way through the hills, have come in contact w T ith 
the quartz containing the gold veins, and by constant 
attrition cut the gold into fine flakes and dust, and it 
is found among the sand and gravel of their beds at 
those places where the swiftness of the current re- 
duces it, in the dry season, to the narrowest possible 
limits, and where a wide margin is, consequently, 
left on each side, over which the water rushes, during 
the wet season, with great force. 

" As the velocity of some streams is greater than 
that of others, so is the gold found in fine or coarse 
particles, apparently corresponding to the degree of 
attrition to which it has been exposed. The water 
from the hills and upper valleys, in finding its way to 
the river, has cut deep ravines, and, wherever it has 
come in contact with the quartz, has dissolved or 
crumbled it in pieces. 

u In the dry season, these channels are mostly with- 
out water, and gold is found in the beds and margins 
of many of them in large quantities, but in a much 
coarser state than in the rivers ; owing, undoubtedly, 
to the moderate flow and temporary continuance of 
the current, which has reduced it to smooth shapes, 
not unlike pebbles, but has not had sufficient force to 
cut it into flakes or dust. 

" The dry diggings are places where quartz contain 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 173 

ing gold has cropped out, and been disintegrated, 
crumbled to fragments, pebbles, and dust, by the 
action of water and the atmosphere. The gold has 
been left as it was made, in all imaginable shapes ; 
in pieces of all sizes, from one grain to several pounds 
in weight. The evidences that it was created in 
combination with quartz are too numerous and striking 
to admit of doubt or cavil. They are found in com- 
bination in large quantities. 

" A very large proportion of the pieces of gold 
found in these situations have more or less quartz ad- 
hering to them. In many specimens, they are so com- 
bined they cannot be separated without reducing the 
whole mass to powder, and subjecting it to the action 
of quicksilver. 

" This gold, not having been exposed to the attrition 
of a strong current of water, retains, in a great 
degree, its original conformation. 

" These diggings, in some places, spread over val- 
leys of considerable extent, which have the appear- 
ance of an alluvion, formed by washings from the ad- 
joining hills, of decomposed quartz and slate earth, 
and vegetable matter. 

" In addition to these facts, it is, beyond doubt, 
true that several vein-mines have been discovered in 
the quartz, from which numerous specimens have been 
taken, showing the minute connection between the 
gold and the rock, and indicating a value hitherto 
unknown in gold-mining. 

" These veins do not present the appearance of 
places where gold may have been lodged by some 
violent eruption. It is combined with the quartz, in 
all imaginable forms and degrees of richness. 

" The rivers present very striking, and, it would 



174 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

seem, conclusive evidence respecting the quantity of 
gold remaining undiscovered in the quartz veins. It 
is not probable that the gold in the dry diggings, and 
that in the rivers — the former in lumps, the latter in 
dust — was created by different processes. That which 
is found in the rivers has undoubtedly been cut or 
worn from the veins in the rock, with which their 
currents have come in contact. All of them appear 
to be equally rich. This is shown by the fact that a 
laboring man may collect nearly as much in one river 
as he can in another. They intersect and cut through 
the gold region, running from east to west at irregu- 
lar distances of fifteen to twenty, and perhaps some 
of them thirty, miles apart. 

" Hence it appears that the gold veins are equally 
rich in all parts of that most remarkable section of 
country. Were it wanting, there are further proofs 
of this in the ravines and dry diggings, which uni- 
formly confirm what nature so plainly shows in the 
rivers." 

It is an interesting inquiry — what was the amount 
of the golden treasure collected during the years 1848 
and '49 ? The satisfaction of this inquiry will enable 
us to form some faint conception of the value of the 
gold region, and the dependence which may be placed 
upon its yield for a commercial return. Premising 
that the gold was first discovered in May, 1848, and 
that intelligence of it was not received in the United 
States till late in the following autumn, Mr. King, in 
his report, proceeds in making an estimate of the 
quantity accumulated tili the close of 1849 : 

"No immigration into the mines could, therefore, 
have taken place from the old States in that year. 
The number of miners was, consequently, limited to 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 175 

the population of the territory, some five hundred men 
from Oregon — Mexicans, and other foreigners, who 
happened to be-in the country, or came into it during 
the summer and autumn — and the Indians, who were 
employed by or sold their gold to the whites. 

"It is supposed there were not far from five thou- 
sand men employed in collecting gold during that sea- 
son. If we suppose they obtained an average of one 
thousand dollars each — which is regarded by well 
informed persons as a low estimate — the aggregate 
amount will be $5,000,000. 

" Information of this discovery spread in all direc- 
tions during the following winter ; and, on the com- 
mencement of the dry season in 1849, people came 
into the territory from all quarters — from Chili, Peru, 
and other States on the Pacific coast of South Ame- 
rica; from the west coast of Mexico, the Sandwich 
Islands, China, and New Holland. 

" The immigration from the United States came in 
last, if we except those who crossed the Isthmus of 
Panama, and went up the coast in steamers, and a 
few who sailed early on the voyage round Cape Horn. 

" The American immigration did not come in by 
sea, in much force, until July and August, and that 
overland did not begin to arrive until the last of Au- 
gust and first of September. The Chilenos and Mexi- 
cans were early in the country. In the month of July, 
it was supposed there were fifteen thousand foreigners 
in the mines. At a place called Sonoranian Camp, it 
was believed there were at least ten thousand Mexi- 
cans. They had quite a city of tents, booths, and 
log-cabins ; hotels, restaurants, stores, and shops of 
all descriptions, furnished whatever money could pro- 
cure. Ice was brought from the Sierra, and ice- 



176 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

creams added to numerous other luxuries, An in- 
closure made of the trunks and branches of trees, 
and lined with cotton cloth, served as a sort of am- 
phitheatre for bull-fights. Other amusements, charac- 
teristic of the Mexicans, were to be seen in all direc- 
tions. 

" The foreigners resorted principally to the southern 
mines, which gave them a great superiority in nume- 
rical force over the Americans, and enabled them U. 
take possession of some of the richest in that part of 
the country. In the early part of the season, the 
Americans were mostly employed on the forks of the 
American, and on Bear, Uba, and Feather Rivers. 
As their numbers "increased, they spread themselves 
over the southern mines, and collisions were threat- 
ened between them and the foreigners. The latter, 
however, for some cause, either fear, or having satis- 
fied their cupidity, or both, began to leave the mines 
late in August, and by the end of September many 
of them were out of the country. 

" It is not probable that, during the first part of 
the season, there were more than five or six thousand 
Americans in the mines. This would swell the whole 
number, including foreigners, to about twenty thou- 
sand the beginning of September. This period em- 
braced about half the season, during which gold may 
be successfully collected in the rivers. 

" Very particular and extensive inquiries respect- 
ing the daily earnings and acquisitions of the miners 
lead to the opinion that they averaged an ounce per 
day. This is believed by many to be a low estimate ; 
but, from the best information I was able to procure, 
I am of opinion it approaches very near actual re- 
sults. The half of the season, up to the 1st of Sep- 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 177 

fccmber, would give sixty-five working days, and to 
each laborer, at $16 per ounce, $1,040. If, there- 
fore we assume $1,000 as the average collected by 
each laborer, we shall probably not go beyond the mark. 

" This would give an aggregate of $20,000,000 for 
the first half of the season— $15,000,000 of which 
was probably collected by foreigners. During the 
last half of the season, the number of foreigners was 
very much diminished, and, perhaps, did not exceed 
five thousand. At this time, the American immigra- 
tion had come in by land and sea, and the number of 
our fellow-citizens in the mines had, as was estimated, 
increased to between forty and fifty thousand. They 
were most of them inexperienced in mining, and it is 
probable the results of their labors were not so great 
as has been estimated for the first part of the season, 
and experienced miners. Assuming that the average 
of half an ounce per day ought to be considered as 
reasonable, it would give an aggregate of about 
$20,000,000. If from this we deduct one-fourth on 
account of the early commencement of the wet sea 
son, we have an estimate of $15,000,000 ; at least 
five of which was collected by foreigners, who pos- 
sessed many advantages from their experience in 
mining and knowledge of the country. 

" These estimates give, as the result of the opera- 
tions in the mines for 1848 and 1849, the round sum 
of $40,000,000 ; one-half of which was probably col- 
lected and carried out of the country by foreigners. 

From the best information I could obtain, I am led 
to believe that at least $20,000,000 of the $40,000,000 
were taken from the rivers, and that their richness 
has not been sensibly diminished, except in a few 
locations, which had early attracted large bodies of 



178 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

miners. This amount has principally been taken 
from the northern rivers, or those which empty into 
the Sacramento ; the southern rivers, or those which 
flow into the San Joaquin, having been, compara- 
tively, but little resorted to until near the close of the 
last season. These rivers are, however, believed by 
those who have visited them, to be richer in the pre- 
cious metal than those in the northern part of the 
gold region." 

Adopting the hypothesis that the gold found in 
these streams had been cut or worn away from 
the veins in the quartz through which they have 
forced their way, and considering the fact that they 
are all equally productive, we may conjecture what a 
vast amount of treasure remains undisturbed in the 
veins which run through the masses of rock over a 
space of forty or fifty miles wide, and near five hun- 
dred miles long. Such an estimate would almost 
defy our belief ; yet, if the hypothesis is true, there 
is no reason to doubt that the value of the gold which 
that region will yield, is almost beyond calculation. 

The quicksilver mines of California are believed to 
be numerous, extensive, and very valuable. The 
largest and most profitable one yet opened is situated 
near San Jose', and belongs to, or is claimed by, Mr. 
Forbes, of Tepic, in Mexico. The cinnabar ore, which 
produces the quicksilver, is easily procured, and 
machinery has been put in operation, which enables 
the proprietor to make an extensive profit. The value 
of the quicksilver mines, by being so near the gold 
region, is considerably increased; quicksilver being 
almost indispensable in gold mining. 

Extensive beds of silver, iron, and copper ores are 
believed to exist in the territory, but their existence 




BOSORIAXS DRY-WASHING C3I*>- 



D 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 179 

and value is not accurately ascertained, the allure- 
ments held out by the continued success of the gold- 
miners and the continued discovery of new and profit- 
able 'placers being too strong to permit any search for 
the baser, but more useful metals. Respecting the 
propriety of the establishment of a mint in California, 
Mr. King makes the following observations — 

" I have already alluded to the propriety of estab- 
lishing a mint in California. This is important in 
many respects. At this time, there is not coin in the 
country to supply a currency. Much difficulty is 
experienced in procuring enough to pay the duties on 
imported goods. The common circulating medium is, 
therefore, gold dust, which is sold at $15 50 to $16 
per ounce. In the mines, it is frequently sold much 
lower. The miners, the laboring men, are the 
suiferers from this state of things. 

" Those who purchase and ship gold to the Atlantic 
States make large profits : but those who dig lose what 
others make. 

" I have estimated that there will be $50,000,000 
collected during the current year. At $16 per ounce, 
that sum will weigh 3,125,000 ounces. 

" Gold, at the United States mint, is worth $18 
per ounce, making a difference in value on that quan- 
tity, between San Francisco and New York, of 
$6,250,000, which would be saved to the miners by 
the establishment of a mint. 

" I have also suggested its importance as a means 
of promoting and increasing our trade with the west 
coast of Mexico and South America. 

"It is not doubted that the construction of a rail- 
way across the Isthmus of Panama, and, perhaps, the 
establishment of other lines of communication between 



180 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

the two oceans, will give to the products and manu- 
factures of the older States of the Union command of 
the market of California to the exclusion, in a great 
degree, of those of the west coast. 

"A mint will, therefore, become of the utmost 
importance, to give such marketable value to silver 
bullion as to enable the merchants of those countries 
to keep up and increase the intercourse with our prin- 
cipal ports on the Pacific. 

" The silver bullion shipped to Europe from the 
west coast of Mexico amounts to more than ten 
millions of dollars per annum. From the countries 
on the west coast of South America, probably an 
equal quantity. That from Mexico goes to pay for 
European importations into her ports on the Atlantic 
side. 

" A market at San Francisco for this bullion will 
be the means of substituting American and Chinese 
fabrics for those of European manufacture in all those 
countries. This will greatly increase the trade between 
China and California." 

A bill for the establishment of a mint at San 
Francisco was introduced into Congress, during the 
present session, (1849-50) and passed both houses ; 
thus securing to California the advantages mentioned 
in the above extract, by Mr. King. 

We have thus given a complete description of 
California, in respect to population, climate, soil, 
productions, commercial resources, and metallic and 
mineral wealth, as accurate and comprehensive as the 
most authentic sources could furnish, or as could be 
ascertained at the present time. Although the terri- 
tory already contains a large population and has pro- 
duced a great amount of treasure in the short dura 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 181 

tion of its existence ; although it is already a large 
State, which has sprung into existence, as it may be 
termed, there is every evidence that this is but the 
" beginning of the end." " The greatest is behind." 
To what such commercial facilities, mineral and metal- 
lic resources, and an active and progressive population 
will conduct California, it is easy to imagine. They 
will build up a State, which, although the member of 
a confederacy, will be powerful enough to maintain 
itself, independent of the aid to be derived from the 
Union. Its ports will be the resort of the vessels of 
all nations, and its valleys and hill-sides will become 
the homes of an agricultural population, reaping the 
rich reward of their toil. Canals and railroads, the 
children of enterprise, will soon intersect the territory, 
transport the riches of one section to another, and 
increase the social communication of the inhabitants. 
Such a State will add greatly to the power of the 
confederated republic, and form an additional stimulus 
to the rapid filling up of the vast territory situated 
between California and her sister States. 



CHAPTER XL 

THE DIFFERENT ROUTES TO CALIFORNIA, AND THEIR 
RESPECTIVE CHARACTERS. 

The various routes taken by the emigrants to Cali- 
fornia have afforded almost as much matter for discus- 
sion as the territory itself. The shortest and most 
travelled route is that by way of the Isthmus of 



182 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

Panama ; and of this we shall first give a description, 
with recommendations to travellers, and the experi- 
ence of some who have taken that route to the " land 
of promise." 

Both steam and sailing vessels are constantly en- 
gaged in carrying freight and passengers from the 
principal ports of the Atlantic States to Chagres, the 
principal port on the eastern coast of the Isthmus. 
Tickets which will carry passengers to Chagres, and, 
after crossing the Isthmus, from Panama to San Fran- 
cisco, can be purchased in New York, from whence to 
Chagres, the passage generally occupies about eight 
days, and has been accomplished in seven. The 
harbor of Chagres is a small but good one, for vessels 
of less than two hundred tons burden. It is protected 
by hills on all sides and towards the ocean, by a beet- 
ling cliff, jutting out into the sea, on the summit of 
which is the ancient and somewhat dilapidated castle 
of San Lorenzo. At the base of this cliff is the chan- 
nel which forms an entrance to the town. Ignorance 
of this fact caused the wreck of several of the vessels 
which went from the United States to Chagres soon 
after the receipt of the news of the gold discovery. 
The following is a description of Chagres and its 
inhabitants in the early part of 1849. It has since 
improved considerably, on account of the travel across 
the Isthmus. 

" The first thing which struck our wondering gaze 
on entering Chagres, was its bee-hive appearance. It 
is a strange, fantastic, and oddish-looking town, situ- 
ated in a deep, dark hollow or cove. It consists of 
some forty or fifty huts, with pointed palm-thatched 
roofs, and reed walls. Nor were the innumerable 
buzzards which were flying about or resting on the 



HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 183 

bouses, together with the energetic gesticulation of the 
natives when in conversation, as we drew near, at all 
calculated to lessen the picturesque effect of a first 
view. The surrounding country was any thing but 
devoid of interest and beauty. All had a strange, 
equatorial look ; while the green hills around, clothed 
with rich tropical verdure, and the graceful and 
shadowy palm and cocoanut, with other strange fan- 
tastic trees, together with the ruins of the large old 
Spanish castle, on the heights above the town, gave 
to the scenery a very beautiful and picturesque aspect. 
" Most of us were soon ashore and rambling through 
the town. We landed at the beach, on some logs, 
which, during the rainy season, are necessary to pre- 
serve the pedestrian from a quagmire, in the midst of 
dense foliage that was here luxuriant to the water's 
edge, surrounded by about thirty canoes and some 
forty or fifty huge black fellows, mostly in the garb in 
which nature arrayed them. We passed on beneath 
a burning sun, which in the shade brought the ther- 
mometer to 90° of Fahrenheit. A majority of the 
natives are black, but some are of a deep copper or 
mulatto color. The thick lips and woolly head of the 
African ; the high cheek-bones, straight hair, and 
dogged look of the Indian ; and the more chisled fea- 
tures and finely expressive eyes of the Spaniard, are 
all here, though often so blended, that it is difficult to 
say to which race they chiefly owe their origin. In 
truth they are a mongrel race, but generally have the 
most magnificent, large, dark, expressive eyes I have 
ever seen. These, when in conversation, which is 
almost continual, they use to some purpose, while the 
incessant rapid clatter of their tongues, and their 
violent gesticulations and grimaces, are often quite 



184 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

ludicrous. The females, some of whom have rather 
pretty faces, and particularly fine eyes, were dressed 
out in the most tawdry finery, with divers furbelows, 
flounces, and ruffles, encircling the shoulders, where 
the dress begins, and terminating somewhere about 
or below the knee. Some of the younger ones were 
entirely model artiste, at least so far as their clothing 
was concerned, but the forms of most were rather 
indifferent. Many were sitting or lounging about the 
doors or in the cabins, eating tamarinds, oranges, and 
other fruit, surrounded by hairless dogs, pigs, naked 
children, turkey-buzzards, and some other little live 
stock, forming altogether quite a congruous and homo- 
geneous mixture. 

" In a country like this, where the temperature is 
so nearly alike throughout the year, there is a natural 
tendency to indolence and sloth, and it is remarkable 
what an influence the climate exerts on the character 
of the people. Here nature with a bounteous hand 
spontaneously fructifies the earth, and the natives, 
with few wants to supply, pluck the fruit and are 
satisfied ; and with few necessities for enterprise and 
industry, such is their love of indolence, that all the 
charms of existence appear to consist in dreaming 
away life in quiet and repose. Basking beneath a 
tropical sun, or listlessly reclining on nature's downy 
couch, days — years — are passed in drowsy languor 
and supine sloth. 

" But the influx of men from rougher climes and 
bleaker regions will probably exercise a salutary influ- 
ence, by showing them the advantages of industry 
and patient toil. Already they begin to perceive 
this, to some extent, and though such dear lovers of 
money, that in closing a bargain they will jabber thei* 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 185 

patois, or bad Spanish, with uncouth gesticulations, for 
half a day, the majority of them are unwilling to make 
any extra bodily effort to procure it ; but when per- 
suaded by liberal offers to undertake a task, it is 
astonishing with what dogged perseverance they will 
often pursue it, what weights they can support, and 
what toil they can endure."* 

It is recommended that passengers from the States 
should remain as short a time in Chagres as possible. 
The exhalations from its malarious atmosphere are 
extremely prejudicial to the health of the new-comer. 

From Chagres, the travellers proceed in canoes up 
the Chagres river, to Gorgona, a distance of about 
fifty miles, or eight miles further, to Cruces. The 
canoes are mostly owned by the natives, and the 
greatest care is necessary to get them to keep their 
agreement. The usual plan by which their services are 
secured, is this : A bargain is made with the owner of the 
canoe, stipulating for the necessary captain and poles- 
men, and then some of the party going up the river in 
the canoe, take possession of it, and maintain it, while 
one goes before the alcalde, and pays the whole amount 
agreed upon, taking a receipt in Spanish. This pre- 
caution is rendered necessary ; the proprietor of the 
canoe returning the money to those who engaged it, 
on finding he can obtain a greater price from others. 
At the present time, vessels, steam and sailing, are 
being constructed at Chagres, for the passage up the 
river, the increase of the Isthmus travel rendering it 
both necessary and profitable. 

The beauty of the country through which the 
Chagres river flows has been the theme of frequent 
praise. Its banks are filled with all the luxuriant 

* Diary of a Physician in California, by James L. Tyson, M. D 

lti* 



186 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

verdure which tropical climes produce. The tama- 
rind, the date, the pomegranate, the plantain, the 
banana, the cocoanut, the lime, the citron, and the 
pine apple, are abundant. Flowers of every hue send 
forth their fragrance upon the air, rendering its sweet- 
ness delightful to the senses. Orange groves are 
numerous, and the fruit is as plentiful as the apple of 
the Southern States of the Union. Mountains, hills, 
and valleys diversify the prospect, while the ear is 
filled with the melodious notes of thousands of birds, 
native of the tropics, their music contrasting with th«. 
discordant noise of the parrots, mackaws, and chat- 
tering monkeys. Such a scene is worth the travel to 
the Isthmus, and the toils sometimes endured in cross- 
ing it. 

Several small towns and ranches are scattered 
along the banks of the river. The first is Gatun, ten 
or twelve miles above Chagres. About ten miles 
further is Dos Hermano ; further on, Puro Blanco, 
and Palenquilla last, about two-thirds of the way to 
Gorgona. These are stopping places for the canoes, 
where refreshments and supplies can be procured. 

At night, parties that land are compelled to build 
fires to keep off the wild beasts and venomous ser- 
pents, which abound in the neighborhood of the river, 
and to disperse the myriads of insects with which the 
air teems. Alligators of a large size, are to be seen 
lying on the banks in the day time, basking in tho 
sun. Above Palenquilla are some powerful currents, 
which it requires considerable toil to move against, 
The river is in some places a half a mile wide, and 
in others, not more than thirty yards. The boatmen 
are exceedingly indolent, and require constant driving 
and coaxing to keep them moving ; but sometimes, 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 187 

when they are prevailed upon to go to work, they will 
exhibit an endurance and perseverance almost aston- 
ishing. They have been frequently known to work 
at the poles, pushing the boaC along, for twenty-four 
hours, without rest. The difficulty of ascending the 
Chagres river, may be appreciated, when it is stated, 
that although Gorgona is only fifty miles from the 
town of Chagres, it frequently occupies as high as 
forty hours for the canoes to reach that place. Stop- 
pages are, of course, numerous, both on account of 
the tiring of the boatmen and for refreshment. 

" Gorgona is located upon a bend of the river, 
from which a fine view of the river and valley is ob- 
tained. The valley is here about five miles wide, the 
mountains rising from it in successive ranges, and 
with increasing elevations. It is an admirable loca- 
tion for a town, and must become one of considerable 
importance — especially should it be on the route of 
the proposed railroad across the Isthmus. It has a 
far better appearance than Chagres ; the streets are 
laid out with some pretensions to regularity. It is 
the head of canoe navigation, and steamboats of light 
draft can approach it. The dwellings or huts are of a 
better class than those at Chagres ; they have an un- 
finished Catholic church that looks rude and ragged, 
but nevertheless, it is a church. The carrying trade 
is now almost the only business pursued by its inha- 
bitants ; what they did before the gold of California 
besran to invite a swarm of adventurers across the 

o 

Isthmus, to the town is more than can be divined. 
Theirs must have been as near a pastoral or primitive 
life, as any that can be seen in our day. The soil is 
teeming with the evidences of its richness — inviting 
the hand of man to its cultivation, by showing what 



188 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

it is capable of doing without it — but it is undis- 
turbed, save in a few stinted spots of less size than 
our ordinary kitchen gardens. All else is left to 
spontaneous production. They have herds of cattle ; 
these, with game, flesh, fish, and fowl, easily pro- 
cured, must have been their principal sustenance. But 
it is with them as with the rest of the world, wants 
increase with the facilities for gratifying them. They 
are rapidly changing their habits since they have an 
opportunity to earn money and luxuries, that they 
have been strangers to, are brought within their 
means and their reach. 

During the dry season, which lasts from December 
till June, the road from Gorgona to Panama is gene- 
rally preferred; at other times, the canoes proceed 
up the river about eight miles, to the town of Cruces, 
and take the road leading from that place to Panama. 
Each of these routes shall receive our consideration, 
and their respective advantages and disadvantages be 
set forth. It is advisable, that travellers should rest 
as short a time as possible at Gorgona, as accommoda- 
tions are of very poor character. Mules and a small 
species of mustang are easily obtained, but the mule 
is far preferable. Some travellers find it a great 
relief to walk a part of the distance, and, with that 
intention, parties hire mules or horses in the propor 
tion of two to every three travellers. The baggage 
will have to be placed under the charge of the native 
muleteers, but, from their observed habits of filching 
wherever they get a chance, it is advisable not to 
trust them out of sight. There are several places 
upon the route where refreshments can be procured ; 
bo.t most of the travellers start at daylight from Gor- 
gona- and push directly through to Panama, in one 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 189 

day. This is the best mode of proceeding, if the 
fatigue is found to be endurable ; for it is above all 
things important that in such a climate too great 
fatigue should be avoided. The following account of 
a journey to Panama by way of the Gorgona roac 1 , 
and descriptions of the road is from a recently pub- 
lished narrative : 

" We arose from cot and hammock, flea-bitten, and 
but little refreshed, though ready to start on what we 
deemed our perilous journey across the Isthmus. 
Hour after hour elapsed, till the most pleasant part 
of the day w r as gone, and the sun shone with torrid 
fervor ; but still our mules were not ready, our host 
keeping them back, as we afterwards learned, to obtain 
a higher rate. Annoyed beyond endurance at the 
delay, and the tardy movements of the worthless set 
around us, we scoured the town, and at length euc- 
ceeded in obtaining four miserable-looking • little ani- 
mals at eight dollars a-piece. Another was still 
wanting, and, by an offer of ten dollars, I at length 
succeeded in getting a tolerably good one. Though 
so wretched in appearance, we found these animals 
capable of great endurance. 

" Glad that the vexatious and irritating events of 
the morning, which the cupidity and dogged laziness 
of these slothful mongrels had produced, were happily 
ended, we hastily swallowed a cup of bad coffee, handed 
by a damsel nearly nude, and mounting our Rosinantes, 
we started at a brisk canter, beneath a broiling sun, 
while our guido, all stripped and on foot, trotted off 
in advance. 

" For the first mile, the way was very pleasant over 
a nearly level plain, at the termination of which thero 
were stronger indications of rougher riding, for ws 



J 90 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

soon began to descend a nearly perpendicular preci- 
pice, the only pass, down which was a narrow mule- 
way, where, step by step, these animals had worn a 
passage, over rocks, loose stones, sand and mud. We 
at length reached the bottom of the ravine, and, cross- 
ing a brook, which in some parts was a wide and deep 
chasm, we commenced a toilsome ascent on the oppo- 
site side, over a similar pathway, surrounded by 
scenery of wild and unknown plants and trees, on the 
mountain and glen, through whose dense foliage a 
breath could scarcely penetrate. The fervent atmo- 
sphere produced an almost stifling sensation, while the 
deathlike silence that reigned throughout, disturbed 
only by the audible footfall of our animals, as we 
slowly wound around the tortuous ascent, made the 
journey peculiarly toilsome and solitary. 

" For the first few miles I followed closely at the 
heels of our guide, and would often pause and turn to 
examine the apparently almost impassable route I had 
traversed, watch the progress of the rest of the party, 
and wonder at the security with which their cautiously- 
stepping and sagacious animals would gradually over- 
come seemingly insurmountable obstacles. These 
mustangs and mules, early trained to travel ' in the 
wild mountain track,' are capable of great endurance, 
and certainly possess much more knowledge than most 
of their riders, when exercised upon what they consider 
the safest and surest stepping-place, and best mode 
of proceeding. I urged mine repeatedly, to make him 
choose a path, which to all appearance was preferable 
to his own, but to no purpose. He would turn half 
round, and in a slow, solemn way, put his nose to the 
ground, and looking keenly about the place, would 
cautiously put one foot forward, then another, then a 



HISTORY 3F CALIFORNIA. 191 

third and a fourth, when, poised on all drawn under 
him, and close together, he would have a better oppor- 
tunity for further inspection, which having satisfactorily 
accomplished, another equally deliberate and cautiou3 
step would be made as before, down what, to all 
appearance, was an impracticable route, and so on, 
until the difficulty was overcome. Finding that he 
knew so much better than I did, how, where, and 
when he ought to travel, I invariably threw the reina 
to him, when hazardous passes or other obstacles were 
to be surmounted. The result was always fortunate. 
One or two of the party, however, were satisfied that 
1 horses should not have their own way,' and whipped 
and spurred theirs to such an extent, to compel com- 
pliance with their better judgment, that the issue was 
as I had anticipated. One was thrown over his horse's 
head into a mud puddle, and the other, with horse and 
all, stuck fast in a quagmire, from which it was not 
easy to extricate him. Should these lines ever meet 
the eye of those worthy gentlemen, I trust they will 
pardon the liberty I have taken in recording here their 
feats of muleship. It is true that mine stumbled on 
some loose stones once or twice, in descending hills, 
and my efforts alone with the reins saved both him 
and me from a fall ; but for unmistakeable judgment 
in traversing these perilous mountain-passes, I must 
admit he proved himself the better of the two. 

" Thus we trudged on, often over difficult, and some- 
times dangerous ^ays. Occasionally we would have 
to go up or down, as the case might be, for nearly 
half a mile at one time, through a chasm or sluice, 
probably worn in the mountains by the torrents of 
water that descend during the rainy season. These 

gully -holes are often ten and fifteen feet deep through- 
J 



192 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

out their entire extent, and the passes are so narrow, 
as barely to admit of one horse or mule passing 
through at a time ; the rider, to avoid a severe contu- 
sion, or probably a broken limb, in turning the sharp 
angles, being compelled to place his feet as near the 
animal's head as possible, and in this manner he can 
ride in perfect safety, though some little management 
is requisite to maintain an equilibrium. Before enter- 
ing these defiles, the muleteers shout at the top of 
their voices, and stop for a short time, continuing the 
shouting as they advance, to apprize others at the 
opposite extremity of the pass, that the way is already 
occupied. This is necessary and important, for if two 
on horseback were to meet in one of these narrow 
but crooked paths, the scene between the Quaker and 
Dandy would have to be re-enacted, for many news- 
papers would have to be read, and many segars 
smoked, before either could turn out of the way for 
his neighbor. 

" Continuing on, we passed two or three hachalas, 
or huts, by the way, and after several brief but pleasant 
stoppages at the various brooks and mountain-rills, we 
at length came out on a beautiful undulating meadow, 
where picturesque villas and shadowy trees decked the 
verdant plain, and soon thereafter the towers of 
Panama were in view. The sun was just setting as we 
entered the suburbs, and a flood of purple glory rested 
on the sky, reflected back by the sparkling waters of 
the Pacific, which brought the distant mountains into 
bolder relief, and cast a deeper shadow through the 
twilight groves. Half an hour's ride over the paved 
Btreet, brought us to the city, which we entered at the 
4 Gorgona gate,' passing through a heavy stone arch- 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 193 

way, supporting a cupola, in which hangs the alarm 
bell mounted by a cross."* 

Such is the character of the Gorgona road to Pana- 
ma. With regard to the Crucis road, we may observe 
that it is a common practice, for most of those who 
take the Gorgona road in going to Panama, on their 
return, to take the Crucis road, no doubt hoping that 
the difficulties and toil to be encountered are less than 
those they know are to be met with upon the other. 
The following account of a return journey by way of 
the Crucis road, with the full character of the route, 
is given in the journal of a returned adventurer. 

a I had passed three days in Panama ; and, feeling 
desirous of continuing my journey, I had no sooner 
concluded this arrangement, than I got my mule sad- 
dled, and my box and carpet-bag packed in the regular 
Isthmus fashion. The mule I obtained, like most of 
his fellows, was little better than a mere skeleton ; 
but still it was the best I could procure, and I was 
fain to content myself with it. Some of my friends 
endeavored to persuade me that it was better to pro- 
ceed on foot ; but I knew the muddy and stony nature 
of the road, and thought it infinitely more comfortable 
to ride a slow animal than subject myself to the suffer- 
ings that I must experience from these inconveniences. 

" The negro, I had hired, brought to my hotel a 
long frame of bamboo, with a sort of basket at the 
end, into which he crammed my luggage. This frame 
had two straps fastened to the upper part of it, 
through one of which he slipped his arm, whilst he 
passed the other 07er his left shoulder, and attached 
it under the latter to the frame which was now on 
his back. This contrivance not only effectually 

• Diary of a Physician in California, by James L. Tyson, M. D. 



194 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

secures the load in its place, but protects the shoulder3 
of the bearer from the continual friction they would 
otherwise undergo. 

" A large party had preceded me ; but I felt no 
anxiety to overtake it, as there was little or no danger 
of my encountering violence on the route. I was 
armed with a good revolving pistol, in the event of 
any thing of the sort presenting itself; so that, all 
things considered, I was just as well pleased to be 
left to my own society. 

" I proceeded on my route with my sable attendant, 
and found the commencement pleasant enough travel- 
ling, the road for some distance being paved with 
large and regularly cut stone. This, however, soon 
terminated in abundance of sand ; the route still con- 
tinuing dry, and comparatively easy to what I had 
expected to find it. Soon after we had quitted the 
paved road, the negro stopped and asked my permis- 
sion to take a few things to his family, who lived in a 
small hut to our left. Apprehensive that he was 
meditating an escape with my luggage, I replied that 
I had no objection, provided he would leave his 
basket in my care. He accordingly took the frame 
off his back, and, separating a small bundle contain- 
ing provisions from my baggage, he took his departure. 
I took care, however, to keep him in sight and saw 
him enter a wretched-looking bamboo-hut at a little 
distance from the route. He remained absent a con- 
siderable time ; and, having paid him half his wages 
in advance, according to the usual custom with these 
people, who are exceedingly distrustful, I began to 
fear that he was about to desert me, and therefore 
called out lustily, until at last I saw him reluctantly 
emerge from the hut, and make his way towards mo. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 11)5- 

These negroes being constantly in the habit of desert- 
ing travellers on the route, and stealing their bag- 
gage whenever the opportunity presents itself, I was 
particularly careful not to lose sight of my attendant. 
" A few miles further on, I again found myself on 
a stone road, said to have been paved by Cortes to 
facilitate the passage of his troops from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific coast ; and, although I have travelled 
rougher and steeper routes in Lower California, I can- 
not say that I have ever encountered such a combina- 
tion of petty difficulties and annoyances. The road 
is, for the greater part, barely wide enough to admit 
of one mule passing with its packs, the sides forming 
steep embankments, composed chiefly of rich clay, 
out, in many places, of large rocks, through which a 
passage had evidently been cut with great labor. 
But little of the country can be seen on either side, 
owing to the height of these embankments ; but now 
and then the traveller obtains a glimpse of dense 
thickets, and occasionally of undulating hills, the 
summits of which are covered with a deep perennial 
green. The recent rains having poured in torrents 
down the steep sides of the road, every cavity and 
crevice was filled with water and mud. Owing to the 
nature of the soil, and the constant traffic across the 
route from the time it was originally cut through, 
innumerable stones and flags had sunk considerably 
below the level of their original position; whilst a 
few had retained their places, as if to serve as step- 
ping-stones to the traveller over the wet and mud. 
It is a task of incessant and wearying exertion, how- 
ever, even for those who are mounted on mules, to 
avoid floundering into some of these pitfalls and quag- 
mires at every step thej make. 



196 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

" The mules themselves are, as I have already stated, 
so •worn-out, and broken-down, that it requires the 
utmost vigilance and care on the part of their riders 
to prevent them dropping, and precipitating them into 
the mire. In order to guard as much as possible 
against this contingency, whenever ladies travel this 
route, they are obliged to discard the side-saddle, and 
resort to a less feminine style of equitation. I overtook 
a party of about twenty persons on the road, amongst 
•whom was a married lady on her way to the States ; 
and I watched her rather curiously, to observe how 
she got over the difficulties that beset her. Being 
fortified with that article of male attire, the figurative 
possession of which is said to denote domestic ascen- 
dency, she thought it incumbent upon her, I suppose, 
to display all the courage and nerve that should 
properly be encased in it. Several times, when I 
fancied that both she and her mule were on the point 
of being capsized, she recovered herself with ad- 
mirable presence of mind, and seemed to enjoy the 
risk exceedingly. 

"As to myself, I floundered on as well as I could 
with a mule tottering beneath me from sheer exhaus- 
tion, and sinking every minute up to hi3 knees in 
mud. It seemed to me that we were making little or 
no progress ; and I became thoroughly tired and dis- 
heartened. I do not know any temptation, however 
powerful, that would again induce me to encounter 
the never-ending series of difficulties and annoyances 
that laid in wait for me at every step ; and I must 
candidly own, that even the force of female example, 
of which I had so merry a specimen before me, did 
not at all shame me into a less impatient endurance 
of them. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 197 

" The negroes whom I met on their way to and 
from Panama excited my astonishment, from the 
amonnt of physical exertion which they seemed 
capable of undergoing. With their legs and feet bare, 
and nothing but a cloth around their loins, they car- 
ried enormous burdens on their backs, stepping from 
stone to stone with wonderful strength and dexterity. 
These poor creatures must lead the most wretched 
and laborious of all the painful modes of existence tc 
which their race is condemned ; and not even long 
habit, or their peculiar physical construction, can di- 
vest it of its distressing character in the eyes of a 
stranger. They all bear, on their hard and wrinkled 
faces, the stamp of overtaxed strength ; but they 
seemed content with their lot, and will, doubtless, 
regret the formation of a better route, as tending to 
depreciate the value of their services. Notwithstand- 
ing the toilsome and laborious nature of their occupa- 
tions, however, the carriers of Panama are the hardi- 
est and most muscular race to be seen here ; for the 
rest of the population, both white and black, are of 
comparatively sickly and diminutive appearance. 

" Moving somewhat like a ship in a storm, rising 
and sinking alternately at stern and bow, surmounting 
first one huge stone, then a deep mud hole, then 
another stone, and then a small lake, my mule and my- 
self at last reached Crucis in the evening, the whole 
distance traversed not being above twenty miles."* 

The town of Crucis is a place very similar to Gor- 
gona, but not so large. The houses are built of cane 
and plastered with mud. No attention is given to 
arrangement, and but a small portion is so constructed 

* Personal .\dventures in California, by W. Redmond Ryan. 
15 J* 



198 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

as to bear any resemblance to a street. The climate 
is unhealthy, and travellers from the United States 
make as short a stay there as possible. Doubtless, 
with the increase of travel, the character of the town 
and its accommodations will improve ; but the heat 
and humidity of the atmosphere, particularly just 
after the rainy season, cause a great deal of injury to 
the health of people from the United States, and will 
prevent any considerable settlement of Anglo-Saxons 
in the town. 

Panama, the terminus of the varied and difficult 
route across the Isthmus, is situated on the shore of 
an extensive and beautiful bay. It contains about 
eight thousand inhabitants, most of whom are negroes. 
Being one of the old Spanish towns, upon the decline 
of the Spanish power, the place fell into decay. The 
houses are generally of stone or brick, two and three 
stories in height, whitewashed or covered with a coat 
of plaster, and are invariably surrounded by a bal- 
cony protected from sun and rain by the roofs of the 
houses extending over them. The town is regularly 
arranged, the strait and narrow streets intersecting 
each other at right angles. The substantial character 
of the buildings as well as the evidences of neglect 
and decay, strike the traveller at the same time. A 
wall was built by the Spaniards, around the portion 
of the town nearest the bay, but at least one half of 
the population reside beyond its limits, and it is in a 
dilapidated state. A venerable, decayed, but still 
imposing cathedral ; a grand plaza, or open common 
— a general characteristic of Spanish built towns ; 
several churches, partly in ruins; the ruins of the 
College of Jesuits, which cover a large extent, and of 
two monasteries, of which the walls and bells alone 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 199 

remain ; and the frowning walls and towers of the 
battery, fronting the bay, are the principal features 
of the town of Panama. Since the commencement 
of the emigration to California, a number of Ameri- 
cans have established hotels and eating-houses in the 
town, and good accommodations are, therefore, to be 
obtained by travellers. 

The atmosphere at Panama is particularly injurious 
to people from the northern climes, and great care 
must be taken by travellers during their stay at that 
place. It is best to avoid eating fruit altogether ; but, 
if indulged in, it should be in very inconsiderable 
quantities. Exposure to the mid-day sun is a fre- 
quent cause of sickness among the travellers, and 
should be avoided, as well as exposure to the rain. 
During the rainy season, the vomito is often prevalent 
among the inhabitants of Panama, and is generally a 
fatal disease; but there is a great deal less travel 
across the Isthmus during that season, on account of 
the sickliness of the climate and the difficulties of the 
route. A sort of bilious fever and dysentery are the 
most common forms of disease among travellers from 
the north ; but both may be avoided by proper care. 

From Panama, steamships of superior size and 
accommodation, convey passengers to San Francisco. 
Starting from the front of the city, the beautiful bay, 
with its semi-circular shores skirted with green foliage 
and inclosed with high mountains, and the lofty 
islands of Flamingo, Perico, Taboga, and others, 
present themselves to the view. At the island of Ta- 
boga, all the vessels that come into the bay obtain 
their supplies, and the Pacific Mail Steamship Com- 
pany have established their depot for coal, &c, on 
its shores. After obtaining all the necessary supplies, 



200 HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 

the steamship moves out of the bay, rounding Point 
Mala. The voyage upon the Pacific, with all its 
variety of incident and scenery, then commences. 
The principal annoyance of travellers is the almost 
intolerable heat of the sun and furnaces of the steam- 
ship united. Water-spouts and different species of 
whale are frequent sights. North of the Gulf of Te- 
huantepec, the steamer nears the land, and the bold 
mountain coast of Mexico breaks upon the view, and, 
at night, the passengers enjoy a view of the glaring 
light produced by the burning volcano of Colima ; 
though the volcano itself is but imperfectly seen, 
being at the distance of ninety miles from the vessel. 
Soon after this fades from the view, the islands off the 
town of San Bias appear, and an immense white rock, 
isolated from the sea, serving as a lighthouse to ships 
steering for the port. At San Bias, the steamships 
remain some time, to obtain supplies of coal, fresh 
fruits, and provisions. These indispensables having 
been procured, the vessel proceeds upon her voyage. 
Cape Corientes next appears, and, soon afterwards, 
the entrance to the Gulf of California is approached ; 
and then, Cape San Lucas, the extreme southern 
point of California, with its mountains and rocky 
shores, is hailed by the traveller as the first portion of 
the "promised land" that greets his sight. Passing 
along the western coast of the peninsula, the island 
and bay of Magdalena appear, with shores three or 
four thousand feet above the sea. Next, the towering 
ridges of Cerros Isles are passed, and the bold, rocky 
shores of the peninsula are in continual view. The 
change of the temperature of the air is generally 
keenly felt by those who do not take care to provide 
against it. Within a few days after leaving Panama. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 201 

tho thermometer falls from 95° to 55°, and such a 
change must have an injurious effect, if additional 
clothing is not put on to meet it. 

The first portion of Upper California, or the 
" Golden Land," which presents itself to the voy- 
agers, is the Ceronados, two high, round-topped rocks 
off the port of San Diego. Then the beautiful, semi- 
circular harbor is entered, and if wanting, supplies 
are obtained from the town. From the harbor of San 
Diego, the vessel proceeds along the coast of Califor- 
nia, and the towering peaks of the coast range of 
mountains, engage the attention. The high pro- 
montory of St. Vincent is passed, and then the open 
bay of Monterey is entered, and passengers are either 
let off the steamer or taken aboard as necessity may 
occasion. From Monterey the steamer keeps along 
the coast, and mountainous shores alone meet the 
view, until tho voyagers come in sight of the Faral- 
lones, two large detached rocks at the southern side 
of the entrance to the bay of San Francisco. Then 
the Golden Gate, as the strait or entrance is called, is 
entered by the steamer, and the perpendicular cliffs 
and hills upon each shore afford matter for wonder. 
The strait is about three miles long, and from one to 
two miles broad. As the vessel reaches its terminus, 
the great bay of San Francisco opens to the view, 
looking like a miniature ocean. Bird Island, Wood 
Island, Angel Island, with the beautiful little bay of 
Sancelito, successively meet the gaze, and very soon 
the steamer is anchored, having reached her destina- 
tion. Such is the Isthmus route to the "gold re- 
gion." It is the shortest route, or the one which oc- 
cupies the least time in traversing, presents great 



202 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA* 

variety, and upon the whole, its beauties and plea- 
sures outnumber the difficulties and annoyances. 

THE OVERLAND ROUTE. 

We now proceed to give the general character and 
direction of that which is considered the ' best land 
route to California, and which is the most travelled 
by emigrants. The principal advantage possessed by 
this route may be stated in a few words. It is the 
shortest route to the bay of San Francisco and th6 
gold region. The Indians upon the route are friendlj 
and very few acts of hostility have been committed 
The trail is plain and good where there are no physical 
obstructions. To these must be added the certaintj 
of the emigrants reaching their place of destination, 
in good season; which will not exist, if new and un- 
explored routes are attempted. The greatest cala- 
mities and sufferings have been endured by those who 
have either taken an entirely different route, or de- 
viated from the line which we will describe. Advice 
concerning the time of starting, preparations, &c, 
will be interspersed in the description. 

The starting point, and the general rendezvous for 
emigrants, is the town of Independence, Missouri, sit- 
uated about six miles from the Missouri River, on the 
south side of it. This town has been, for many years, 
the principal outfitting point for the Santa Fe traders, 
and contains about two thousand inhabitants. Emi- 
grants should be at the starting place by the 20th of 
April, and start upon their journey as soon thereafter 
as the grass will permit. The outfit of companies of 
emigrants would be too tedious to mention, and as it 
varies considerably, from differences of means and 
taste, a description would hardly be accurate. But 



HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 203 

there are certain things which are indispensable to 
those who take this route, and these we will mention. 
With respect to wagons and teams, the lightest wagon 
that can be constructed of sufficient strength to carry 
2,500 pounds weight, is the vehicle most desirable. 
This can be drawn by three or four yokes of oxen, or 
six mules ; oxen are usually employed for this purpose. 
Pack mules can only be employed by parties of men ; 
but the journey can be made in great deal less time 
with mules than with oxen. The provisions taken by 
the companies, consist mainly of flour, bacon, coffee, 
and sugar ; besides these indispensables, there is rice, 
crackers, salt, pepper, and other luxuries of light 
weight. As to the quantity necessary, that may be 
determined by considering the length of the route 
and the average number of miles which the emigrants 
travel per day. From Independence to the first set- 
tlement in California, which is near the gold region, 
it is about two thousand and fifty miles — to San Fran- 
cisco, 2,290 miles. Oxen teams travel about fifteen 
miles per day upon an average. At that rate, it would 
require one hundred and thirty-one days to reach the 
first settlement in California. Allowance should be 
made for stoppages by accident. Every man should 
be provided with a good rifle, a pair of pistols, with a 
quantity of ammunition, and a bowie knife and hatchet, 
in his belt. A set of carpenter's tools is also necessary. 
Starting from Independence, and travelling a few 
miles over a good road, the first prairie opens upon 
the view. This is called the Blue Prairie, and pre- 
sents a surface undulating and clothed with rich ver- 
dure. In crossing this prairie, violent storms often 
overtake the emigrants, and to those who have not 
been accustomed to it, the scene during the storm ia 



204 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

terrifically grand. Fourteen miles travel upon the 
prairie brings the emigrants to the "Blue Creek," 
which is fordable, except after a heavy rain. Ford- 
ing the creek and crossing the timbered bottom of the 
stream, another magnificent prairie is entered, which 
is beyond the Missouri line, and within the Indian ter- 
ritory. Sixteen miles travel over this beautiful plain 
brings the emigrant to Indian Creek, the banks of 
which usually serve for a place of encampment. The 
prairie offers the best pasturage for cattle ; but con- 
stant watching is necessary to keep them from stray- 
ing away and returning to the settlements. From 
Indian Creek, the emigrants proceed across the prairie, 
along the Santa Fe trail, for about fifteen miles, and 
then leave it, turning off to the right hand. Cross- 
ing several deep ravines, which are very difficult of 
passage in rainy weather, the emigrants arrive on the 
banks of the Werkarusa Creek. This is another 
favorite place of encampment, groves of trees being 
on each side of it. From this creek, the route is over 
the high-rolling prairie, upon a smooth and hard trail. 
The want of water is the only annoyance that is ex- 
perienced by the travellers, and a long day's journey 
is necessary to bring them to the nearest creek — a 
branch of the Kansas River. The banks of the creek 
are steep, and considerable toil is requisite to cross it. 
The crossing of the Kansas River is the next diffi- 
culty to be met. There is a regular ferry about five 
miles from where* the emigrants cross the tributary 
creek. At that place the river is never more than 
two hundred yards wide, even after heavy rains. The 
wagons are placed in boats, owned by the Indians, 
and transported to the opposite shore for the sum of 
one dollar per load. The oxen and horses are con> 



niSTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 205 

polled to swim across. Following the trail for about 
three miles, a place of encampment, on the banks §f 
Soldier Creek, is reached. The soil in the neighbor- 
hood of the Kansas is luxuriantly productive, and the 
most refreshing verdure meets the eye along the 
trails from that river to Soldier Creek. The route 
is then pursued over a flat plain — boggy in some 
places— for several miles, till another creek is reached, 
the banks of which are steep, and this, as in other 
cases, make its crossing a matter of great toil. The 
trail then runs over a high, undulating country, pre- 
senting every variety of scenery, as far as Black 
Paint Creek, near which are two Kansas Indian vil- 
lages. The Kansas are a friendly tribe, and if they 
were not, they are not powerful enough to attack large 
parties of emigrants. They are somewhat disposed 
to pilfer whatever they can conveniently, and require 
close watching. 

After crossing the creek, the trail is followed 
through a fertile valley, across Hurricane Creek, which 
is somewhat difficult of passage, and then over an 
open and rolling prairie, broken by small branches 
and ravines. Many places, convenient for encamping, 
are to be found on the route, some of which have 
springs of pure cold water. Farther on, the ground 
becomes more broken, and Vermilion Creek, a large 
and rapid stream, is reached. Its banks are steep, 
and its fording very toilsome and difficult. Between 
this creek and the Big Blue, there is neither wood 
nor water to be obtained, and therefore, it is cus- 
tomary for the emigrants to fill their casks at this 
place. The ground between the two streams, a dis- 
tance of ten miles, is more broken than any upon 
the former part of the route, and on arriving at the 



206 HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 

Big Blue, a steep descent is made to the low, bottom 
lands near the river. The usual width of the Big 
Blue is about a hundred yards, at which time alone 
it is fordable. It becomes much swollen by heavy 
rains, and very rapid in its current. 

Arising from the bottom of the Big Blue River, the 
emigrants are again upon the high and undulating 
prairie. Every variety of scenery is presented to the 
view, and springs of water, issuing from the cliffy 
banks of the small branches and ravines, and shaded 
by groves of trees offer many places for rest and re- 
freshment. Fourteen miles from the Big Blue, one 
of its tributaries, exceedingly difficult to cross with 
large wagons and teams, is met with. After passing 
it, the trail runs over a smooth inclined plane for the 
distance of twelve miles, to another encamping place 
for emigrants, upon the banks of a small creek. 
From that creek there is a gradual ascent for the dis- 
tance of about fourteen miles, and then a beautiful 
valley, through which flows a small stream, meets the 
eye of the wearied emigrants, and offers groves of 
oak to serve for places of rest. Then there is another 
gradual ascent, through a country which is more 
sandy and less fertile than any met with upon the 
former part of the route, for more than twenty miles. 
The Little Blue is then reached, and the train con- 
tinues along up the banks of the stream for the dis- 
tance of about fifty miles ; the road being dry and 
firm, except in a few ravines. The trail then diverges 
from the stream to the right, ascending over the 
bluffs, into the high table land of the prairie, and 
continues to ascend gradually until the bluffs overlook- 
ing the valley of the Platte River, are reached. The 
soil along this part of the trail is sandy, and the grass 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 207 

rather scarce ; but water can bo obtained at several 
places. 

The Platte River is about one hundred and fifty 
yards in breadth where the trail reaches it. The 
current is sluggish and turbid, and the water is very 
shallow. The trail continues along the banks of the 
river, the course of which is nearly from west to east, 
and the road is all that could be wished for travelling. 
The bluffs which skirt the valley present considerable 
variety, and as the route is continued, they become 
more elevated and broken. The soil of the valley 
becomes less fertile and the vegetation is thin and 
short. After traversing the valley of the Platte for 
the distance of one hundred and thirty miles, the 
trail crosses the river and continues along the north- 
ern bank of the south fork for about twelve miles, 
when it diverges from the stream to pass over the 
prairie to the north fork. The distance from the 
south to the north fork of the Platte, by the emigrant 
trail, is about twenty-two miles, without water. The 
country between the two streams is high and rolling. 
The soil is poor, the grass short, and no trees or 
shrubs are visible. The trail descends into the valley 
of the north fork of the Platte, through a pass known 
as Ash Hollow. There is but one steep or difficult 
place for wagons in the pass, and in the valley will be 
found a spring of pure cool water. At this place, 
there is a sort of post office, where letters are left by 
emigrants, with requests that they shall be taken to 
the States by those who pass this way. 

For several miles from Ash Hollow the trail passes 
over a sandy soil, which is very soft, but which after- 
wards becomes firmer. The scenery then presents 
the aspect of barrenness and desolation. Sand and 



208 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

rocks are all that meet the view for many miles. The 
landscape then assumes a greener and more refresh- 
ing appearance, and groves of trees relieve the emi- 
grants from pursuing their way any farther during 
the day. Farther on, the well-known landmark, called 
the " Chimney Rock," which can be seen at a great 
distance, is met by the emigrants. It is composed of 
soft rock, and is several hundred feet high. The 
scenery in the neighbourhood of the rock is ver^- 
remarkable and picturesque. There are a number of 
rocky elevations which present the appearance of 
vast temples and pyramids, with domes and spires 
partially in ruins. Over a sandy soil, the trail is 
pursued for about twenty miles, the surrounding 
scenery being of the most sublime and singular char- 
acter. Near a remarkable rocky conformation, called 
" Scott's Bluff," the trail leaves the river, and runs 
over a smooth valley in the rear of the bluff. It 
there ascends to the top of the dividing ridge, from 
which the Rocky Mountains can be seen. Descending 
from the ridge, it passes over a barren country, broken 
by deep chasms and ravines, for about twelve miles, 
when Horse Creek is reached. From that creek, the 
trail is followed to the Platte River, where a place for 
encampment is found, though the grass is very in- 
different. Continuing for several miles through a 
barren country, the trail is followed to " Fort Ber- 
nard," a small building, rudely constructed of logs, 
used as a trading-post. Eight miles farther on, is 
Fort Laramie, or Fort John, as it is sometimes called. 
This fort has been the principal trading-post of the 
American Fur Company. It is situated in the Lara- 
mie River, near its junction with the Platte, and is six 
hundred and seventy-two miles from Independence. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 209 

The building is quadrangular, and is constructed of 
adobe, or sun-dried bricks. Its walls are surmounted 
by watch-towers and its gate is defended by two 
brass swivels. 

From Fort Laramie, the trail continues on through 
a broken country, to the Platte River, a distance of 
twenty miles. Crossing a small creek which empties 
into the Platte, it proceeds through the dry bed of 
one of its branches, over a deep sand for six or eight 
miles, and reaches the summit of a high ridge. From 
thence it descends into a narrow valley, through 
which flows a small stream of pure water. Another 
ridge of hills is then ascended, and a wild, desolate, 
but picturesque scene is presented to the view. Nu- 
merous lofty mountain peaks, barren rocks, and a vast 
prospect of low conical hills are the principal features. 
Through a country, the principal features of which 
are of this description, the trail is followed, and the 
monotony of the journey is only relieved by an occa- 
sional stoppage at a refreshing spring of water. The 
trail gradually ascends towards the summit of the 
Rocky Mountains, and the country becomes more 
broken and sterile, till it reaches Beaver Creek, a 
tributary of the Platte. There the grass and water 
are good, and the wood is abundant. The country 
exhibits every indication of fertility upon the trail lead- 
ing from Beaver Creek, and pure and limpid streams 
are frequent, until the Platte River is again struck 
and followed upon its southern bank, for the distance 
of about eighteen miles. The river is then forded, 
and the trail ascends the high bluffs overlooking the 
valley, and proceeds over several miles of table-land 
till the valley of the Platte is again reached. At 
this point, the trail finally leaves the Platte, and, 



210 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

ascending the bluffs on the right-, passes over an arid 
plain diversified with immense piles of rocks, deep 
ravines and chasms, and presenting a wide-spread 
sterility and desolation, for the distance of forty 
miles. Water is to be obtained in very small quanti- 
ties and at few places on this part of the trail, and, 
therefore a scarcity should be provided for before 
leaving the Platte. At the end of that distance, the 
trail descends into a small valley, where spring water 
can be obtained and some refreshing shade. Ascend- 
ing from this valley, the trail gradually ascends to 
the summit of a dividing ridge, from which a view of the 
Sweetwater River Mountains can be obtained. De- 
scending from the ridge, a small stream, the grassy 
banks of which serve for an encampment, is soon 
reached. Farther on is a well-known landmark among 
the mountains, called Independence Eock. It is an 
isolated elevation, composed of masses of rock, about 
one hundred feet in height, and a mile in circum- 
ference, standing near the northern bend of the Sweet- 
water River, and between the ranges of mountains 
which border the valley of that stream. 

The trail proceeds up the Sweetwater River, and 
passes a remarkable fissure in the Rocky Mountain 
wall, which is called the Devil's Gate. The fissure is 
about thirty feet in breadth, and the perpendicular 
walls on each side of the channel of the stream which 
flows through it, are nearly three hundred feet high. 
The trail leaves the river about twelve miles from 
where it first strikes it, and then returns to it after 
traversing about sixteen miles. It again diverges from 
the river and crosses a broken and arid plain, which 
presents but few signs of vegetation. Passing through 
a gap between two ranges of granite mountains, the 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 211 

first view of the Wind River Mountains is obtained. 
The trail then proceeds through a narrow valley 
several miles in length, the surface of which is white 
with an alkaline efflorescence, and then returns to the 
Sweetwater River. Continuing up the valley of the 
Sweetwater, occasionally leaving the bank of the 
stream and passing over the rolling and barren table- 
lands, it crosses two small creeks which present good 
places for encampment. Several miles farther on, the 
trail crosses the Sweetwater River, and then leaves it 
finally, making a gradual ascent to the South Pass of 
the Rocky Mountains, or the dividing ridge which 
separate the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific. 

After the summit of the ridge is reached, the trail 
passes two or three miles over a level surface, and 
then descends to the spring, well known to emigrants 
as the " Pacific Spring." The water from this spring 
is emptied into the Colorado River of the West, which 
river empties into the Gulf of California. This Pacific 
Spring is two miles west of the South Pass, and nine 
hundred and eighty-three miles from Independence, 
Missouri. 

From the Pacific Spring, the trail passes over an 
arid, undulating plain, in a west-by-north course, for 
about twenty-eight miles, when the " Little Sandy" 
River, a branch of the Green or Colorado River, pre- 
sents itself, and furnishes the first water after leaving 
Pacific Spring. From the Little Sandy River, the 
trail passes over a plain of white sand or clay, and 
within twelve miles reaches the Big Sandy River, and 
passes along it for about eighteen miles, and then 
strikes off" and crosses the Green River, or Colorado 
of the West. This river is shallow and only about 
seventy yards broad. The trail then continues down 



212 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

the Green River a short distance, and then, making a 
right angle, ascends the bluffs bordering the valley of 
the stream, in nearly a west course. The country 
then becomes still more broken and barren, and the 
trail ascends gradually to the summit of a ridge, from 
which it descends to the banks of the Black Fork, a 
tributary of the Green River. This Black Fork is 
crossed several times upon the route, but is not more 
than sixty yards wide and is very shallow. The trail 
leaves it to cut off the bends and then returns to it. 
The scenery along this part of the route is interesting, 
but the soil is frightfully sterile. Diverging from the 
stream the trail passes over a barren plain with no 
vegetation upon it except the 'wild sage, so common 
even in the most sterile country, and then passes 
through a bottom of grass, offering a good place for 
an encampment. 

Near this place is Fort Bridger, a small trading- 
post established by a Mr. Bridger. The buildings 
are two or three rudely constructed log cabins, and 
they are situated in a handsome fertile bottom, on the 
banks of a small stream. This fort is about eleven hun- 
dred miles from Independence, Missouri. From Fort 
Bridger, many parties anxious to explore the country, 
take the route by way of the south end of the great 
Salt Lake. But the scarcity of water and the other 
difficulties encountered in crossing the sterile plains 
and the great Salt Desert should be sufficient to deter 
emigrants with families from taking that direction. 
Oxen could not travel fast enough from one watering- 
place to another, and must necessarily perish from 
thirst. Besides, the route is but poorly defined, and 
may be wandered from very easily. 

The trail of the old route, and the one taken by 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 213 

most of tlio emigrants, leaves Fort Bridger, and pur- 
sues a north-westerly course, through the Bear River 
valley, which it leaves at a remarkable landmark 
called Sheep Rock, and crossing a dividing ridge 
reaches Fort Hall, by the valley of the Portneaf 
River. This fort was established by the Hudson 
Bay Company, and it is the seat of a considerable 
trade in furs with the Indians and trappers. From 
Fort Hall the trail continues on till it reaches the 
valley of Mary's River. There a tolerably fertile soil 
and refreshing vegetation greets the eye of the travel- 
worn emigrant. The trail crosses the river five or six 
times in as many miles, in order to take advantage of 
the narrow bottoms made by the windings of the 
stream. The bottom is skirted by very high ranges 
of mountains to where the trail leaves it, and turning 
to the right ascends over low, gravelly hills. Descend- 
ing from the summit of a ridge of hills, it passes 
through a valley where good grass and water can be 
obtained — the valley containing several springs of 
pure cold water. Emerging from this valley through 
a narrow gap, the trail passes into another still more 
extensive, and pursues a south-westerly direction for 
about twenty miles, keeping near the margin of Mary's 
River. A succession of low hills are crossed, and 
another valley is reached. During the journey through 
these valleys, the emigrants are exposed to the fiery 
rays of the sun, and the hot winds from the desert 
are very oppressive. The trail then follows the course 
of the river in a direction nearly north-west, through 
valleys, or plains of great extent, and mountainous 
defiles, occasionally following a bend of the rivet 
towards the south-west. The greater portion of these 

valleys is barren, but there are frequent fertile spots 
16 K 



214 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

near the boiling springs. The only Indians met on 
this part of the route are the diggers, and they do 
not possess the power to do much harm, if they even 
were hostile; hut they are friendly. The want of 
water is the principal annoyance. 

Passing over the desolate valleys and hills that 
border Mary's River, the trail descends into a large 
circular basin, in which a place for encamping is 
found, but with little water. From this basin, it 
crosses some considerable elevations and then a totally 
barren plain ten miles wide. Beyond this, water and 
grass of tolerable quality are soon found ; and there, 
if possible, a supply should be obtained sufficient to. 
last for a long day's journey. Rounding the base of 
a mountain, the trail takes a south-west course, across 
a totally barren plain. No sign of the river, or the 
existence of any water is exhibited. Near the southern 
edge of the plain, which is twenty miles in extent, 
some pools of standing water are found, and the place 
is known as the "Sink of Mary's River/' From 
these pools to the Truckee, or Salmon Trout River, 
the distance is forty-five miles. The trail is followed 
over the hills of ashy earth, in which the mules often 
sink to their bellies, and over a ground destitute of 
any vegetation, except occasional clumps of wild sage. 
A ridge of mountains is then ascended by an easy 
inclined plain, and a view of the distant range of 
Sierra Nevada is obtained on reaching the summit, 
The intervening valley presents as barren a prospect 
as the country immediately preceding it. Descending 
into it, numerous boiling springs are found, which 
often serve to delude the thirsty emigrants. But by 
damming up the streams which flow from them, tha 
water may be cooled, and, although impregnated with 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 215 

salt, sulphur, and magnesia, it may quench the thirst. 
The phenomenon of mirage is frequently presented to 
the view of the emigrants, and it very often assumes 
the appearance of things unknown to that desert 
region, such as lakes, cascades, and foaming and 
tumbling waters. About twelve miles from the 
springs, a ridge of sandy hills, running across the 
valley, is ascended, and then an elevated plain of 
about ten miles in extent is crossed by the trail. Over 
this plain the travelling is very laborious — the sand 
being very deep. But at length the Truckee River is 
reached, and water, grass and trees, larger than any 
upon the former part of the route for five hundred 
miles preceding, greet the wearied and thirsty 
emigrant. 

The Truckee River is about fifty feet in breadth 
with a shallow but rapid current of clear water. The 
bottom land is exceedingly fertile, and game is some- 
times to be obtained in its neighborhood. The trail 
crosses the Truckee very frequently, in its winding 
course, but the country being agreeable, this is not 
considered toilsome by the emigrant, after traversing 
the barren plains in the vicinity of Mary's River. The 
course of the Truckee is nearly from the south-west to 
the north-east, and in some places it passes between 
very high mountains, affording scarcely room for tra- 
vellers to pass. Sometimes the trail is followed 
through fertile valleys and then over barren hills and 
rocky passes till the summit of a gap in the moun- 
tains is reached, and a pleasant valley opens to the 
view, offering a fine place for encampment. The trail 
then turns to the left, and proceeds in a southerly 
direction, crossing the Truckee several times, until 
the Truckee Lake breaks upon the view. This small 



216 HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 

sheet of water is surrounded by lofty mountains, ex 
oept upon the side where its outlet flows from it. The 
trail strikes the shore of the lake at its eastern end, 
and continues around its north-eastern side over a 
very difficult, boggy road. Having reached the upper 
end of the lakes, the trail leaves the shore on the 
right hand, ascends over some rocky hills, and, cross- 
ing some deep ravines and swampy ground, arrives at 
the base of the crest of the Sierra Nevada. Then 
comes the ascent of the steep pass — a work of diffi- 
culty and danger. The mules are compelled to leap 
from crag to crag, and, when heavily laden, are often 
precipitated backward in climbing the almost perpen- 
dicular rocks. 

Having attained the summit of the pass, the view 
is inexpressibly grand and comprehensive. A mile 
journey upon the top of the mountain brings the tra- 
veller to a small lake, surrounded by good grass, 
which is often used as a place of encampment. Leav- 
ing the lake on the right hand, the trail descends over 
the rocky ground for a few miles, and then enters a 
beautiful valley about five miles long. Through this 
valley, which is called the Yuba valley, by the emi- 
grants, flows the Yuba River, a tributary of the 
Feather River, and the scene of considerable gold 
digging and washing. This is the commencement of 
the gold region, and after their journey through the 
wilderness, here the emigrants greet the "promised 
land." From this point to Sacramento city, the great 
terminus of the overland emigration, it is about sixty 
miles ; but the trading post of Yuba, Johnson's 
ranche, Vernon, and the other posts, offer convenient 
intermediate resting places. 

We have thus sketched the general character of the 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 217 

principal overland route to California, and have fol- 
lowed the trail of the emigrant over all the difficul- 
ties and obstacles which present themselves upon the 
route. That there are portions of the journey which 
are productive of considerable suffering, and which 
demand stout hearts and strong constitutions to meet 
them, is not to be doubted. But they are few com- 
pared with the dangers to be encountered by deviat- 
ing from the particular trail whose course we have 
followed. The want of water is the principal source 
of annoyance towards the lake part of the route, but 
this occurs in few places. The longest distance to be 
travelled without finding water, is about forty-five 
miles— from the " Sink" of Mary's River to Truckee 
River, and this may be prepared for. It is a matter 
of great importance, that the delay upon the route 
should be as little as possible. Great suffering and 
many deaths have been caused by delaying too long 
at different camping places. It should be made an 
urgent duty to get over as much ground every day as 
possible, and to keep in the old trail. 

The overland route which we have sketched, and 
the route by way of Chagres and Panama, are the two 
routes by which most of the California emigrations had 
proceeded ; but there are others projected, and some 
have been followed. Many persons have proceeded to 
California through Mexico; but the difficulty and 
delay in the matter of passports, and the opposition 
of the Mexicans to armed parties of another country 
passing their territory, must prove weighty objections 
to any such route. Another has been projected, and 
will probably be opened. It is a route across the ter- 
ritory of Nicaragua, in Central America. This will 
be the shortest and most convenient route to the gold 



218 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

region, and will absorb the greater portion of the 
travel thither ; but the overland route will always b« 
taken by those who have been accustomed to a coun- 
try life, or have a thirst for adventure. It presents 
the greatest variety of scenery — some of it of a cha- 
racter not to be seen elsewhere ; and affords oppor- 
tunities for studying nature in all her visible forms ; 
and, though attended with toils and dangers, which 
will daunt the feeble, it possesses the strongest at- 
tractions for the lovers of variety, and the hardy ad- 
venturer who has confidence in his own powers of 
endurance. 



CHAPTER XII, 

RECENT EVENTS. 

Believing that every event which in any way 
affects the interests or welfare of California is im- 
portant to those who have watched her progress and 
have been astonished at her rapid rise, we will in this 
and a subsequent chapter, bring the narrative up to 
the time of issuing this work. 

The city of San Francisco, in the midst of her 
progress and prosperity, has been twice visited by the 
destroying element of fire. The first calamity of this 
kind occurred on the morning of the 25th of Decem- 
ber, 1849. The fire consumed all that portion of the 
city on and near the plaza, involving a loss, at Califor- 
nia prices, of over a million of dollars. Fortunately, 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 219 

it was the rainy season. -If the fire had occurred 
during the dry season, and the prevalence of the 
furious gales, the whole city, composed, as it was, of 
canvas tents and wooden houses, must have been 
destroyed. The event did not materially affect the 
progress of the city ; for the burnt district was entirely 
rebuilt within twenty days. 

The second great fire occurred on the night of the 
4th of May, 1850. It broke out in the United States 
Hotel, situated on the plaza, or Portsmouth Square — 
the very heart of the city. The flames soon spread 
to the adjoining buildings, and several of the principal 
hotels were destroyed. Nothing could stop the pro- 
gress of the fire but the tearing down of a whole block 
of houses on one of the streets leading from the 
Square, Five entire blocks of the business portion 
of the city were destroyed — involving a loss of about 
a million of dollars. To show the amount of enter- 
prise and energy existing in San .Francisco, no better 
opportunity is afforded than to look at the state of 
things in that city, ten days after the fire. We extract 
from the Alta Californian of the 15th of May, the 
following remarks : 

"The Burned District. — Intimately as we are 
acquainted with the predominant spirit of energy and 
enterprise of our city, we have almost wondered at 
the rapidity with which the burned district is being 
again built up. It exceeds the speed with which the 
work was accomplished after the December fire. 
Already, in Portsmouth Square, the Bella Union and 
St. Charles, houses of public resort, are opened and 
hourly thronged. In Washington Street, two dry 
goods stores, ' La Amarilla' and Juan Cima's, are 
opened and stocked, and on both sides of the way 



220 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

buildings are nearly completed, and will be ready for 
occupation by the latter end of this week- In fact, 
the ruins are more than half covered over, and except 
that the new edifices are not of so elegant a character 
or so substantially built, even, as previously, they will 
present a handsome appearance. 

" The fact of the business season having now fairly 
commenced, and the necessity of being alive to take 
advantage of it, has materially accelerated operations. 
The present busy hum created by the industrious 
mechanic, will soon give way to the usual activity and 
bustle of mercantile trade, and ere the departure of 
the next steamer a casual observer would be scarcely 
able to realize the devastation of the 4th inst. Not- 
withstanding the immense amount of property de- 
stroyed, which was not at all over-estimated, business 
has not been so generally depressed, even momenta- 
rily, as it was feared and anticipated. Our community 
have risen again to the surface of the waters with 
cork-like buoyancy, and the sad and gloomy faces of 
the early part of last week have brightened by the 
prosperous hopes anticipated in the future. Never 
was calamity taken Avith more fortitude and philosophy 
than in this city. And if to win success is but to 
deserve, then those who have suffered will meet with 
their just reward. Nil desperandum seems to be the 
popular motto, amalgamated with the David Crocket 
principle, enlarged and improved. We are satisfied 
that nothing can retard or check the prosperity, rapid 
growth, advancement and importance of this, the prin- 
cipal city and seaport of the Pacific coast. Vive 
San Francisco !" 

The annexed extract from the Message of the Mayor 
of San Francisco gives an idea of tne quantity of 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 221 

disease and destitution in that city. No doubt San 
Francisco is tlic grand receptacle for all who become 
diseased in any way at the mines or other places in 
the interior ; and this may serve to account for the 
extraordinary statements contained in the Message — 

" During the last nine months, an expense of eighty 
thousand dollars has been incurred for the support of 
the sick and destitute, who have been thrown penniless 
upon our shores, and found friendless and homeless in 
our streets, and for the burial of those who have died 
without sufficient means to defray the expenses of 
interment. If these enormous expenditures are con- 
tinued, (and it is evident from the rapid growth of the 
population, that they must seriously increase, unless 
some new system is adopted,) it will readily be per- 
ceived that a very large portion of the revenue of the 
city will be absorbed in defraying the expenses of the 
hospital department alone. Something therefore must 
speedily be done to remedy this great drain upon the 
public purse." 

As an indication of the vast increase of the com- 
merce of San Francisco, it is stated that, in six days 
in the month of May, 1850, there arrived at that port 
seventy-six vessels, freighted with cargoes to find a 
market there. Several large steamboats have been 
put upon the Sacramento and the Bay of San Fran- 
cisco, and they are reaping extraordinary profits. The 
trip from San Francisco to Sacramento City was, a few 
years ago, a work of some days, but it is now per- 
formed in less than nine hours. 

The reports from the mines continue to be of the 
most favorable character. Gold has been discovered 
upon Trinity River, about two hundred miles north of 
Sacramento City, and the digging has proved to be 



K 



222 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

equal to that of any of the other placers. The mouth 
of the river, which empties into Trinity Bay, has been 
surveyed, and, being considered a very good harbor, 
a town has been projected, to be situated upon the 
shore at the mouth of the river. Rich diggings have 
been opened near Mariposa, and on one occasion, a 
mass of gold and quartz, weighing fifty pounds, was 
taken from them, and sold for sixteen hundred dollars. 
Several important discoveries have been made on the 
Mokulumne River. Out of one hole, three men, in two 
days, took the sum of four thousand dollars. It is 
thought that more bullion will be obtained during the 
dry season of the present year, 1850, than has been 
received since the commencement of the gold-digging. 
This seems to falsify the predictions of some persons, 
that the gold region would be speedily exhausted. 

The following is an account of some bloody trans- 
actions upon the North Fork of the American River. 
We extract it from the Pacific News of May 15th, 
1850:— 

" About two weeks ago, a party of Indians came 
stealthily upon a few miners who were sleeping after 
their work was over in their tents on the North Fork, 
some twenty miles above Auburn. Before the Indians 
gave any warning to the whites of their presence, they 
killed two, wounded another, and then succeeded in 
making their escape. On Friday of last week, a 
trader, who was travelling with his team, was sur- 
rounded by Indians when about fifteen miles above 
Auburn. The arrows from their bows took effect up- 
on his person, and he only saved his life by a preci- 
pitous flight. They carried off his coat which he left 
m his wagon, with $600 worth of gold dust in the 
pocket. They also robbed his wagon of several valu- 



HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 223 

able articles. Upon receiving news of this attack at 
Auburn, a number of men set out on horseback, in 
pursuit of the Indians. They overtook them in a 
valley not far from Auburn, and found a large party 
of them drawn up to meet them. The Indians were 
armed with bows and arrows and had one gun. The 
whites attacked them, and soon put them to flight. 
The Indians left a considerable number of dead be- 
hind them, and it is supposed that they carried off 
many more. Two of the whites were wounded with 
the arrows of the Indians, but not fatally. 

"It is believed by many of the miners that there 
are white men among the Indians, inciting them to 
hostilities. It is pretty certain that a German doctor 
has been leading them on in their attacks. A meet- 
ing was held at Auburn, last Monday evening, to 
raise a company of volunteers for the purpose of 
scouring the country, and making war upon the Indians 
wherever found, so long as they maintain a hostile 
position, and a number of men were enrolled." 

A portion of the Indians of the eastern part of 
California have always manifested their hostility to 
the whites, and have taken numerous occasions to 
wreak their vengeance upon those whom they consider 
the invaders of their country. But the pursuit of 
such a course will only hasten their own destruction. 
They are in no condition to contend with the whites, 
and their proper course would be to conciliate those 
whom they cannot resist. The following account of 
an exterminating expedition against the Indians is 
from the Alta Californian of the first of June. To 
our thinking, the punishment far exceeded the offence, 
and the officer who gave the order for extermination, 
is culpable in a high degree. 



224 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

" We have received particulars of the recent slaugh- 
ter of a large body of Clear Lake Indians by an expe- 
dition sent out against them from the United States 
garrisons at Sonoma and Benecia. The tribe that 
incurred this terrible punishment, comprises the natives 
of Sonoma and Napa valleys, and has maintained, in 
general undisturbed peaceful relations with the white 
settlers of that section of California. Last summer, 
however, a stubborn family Indian offered an indignity 
to the wife of one Kelsey, who had resided in the 
country some nine years, for which he was taken be- 
fore a magistrate and sentenced to receive one hundred 
lashes. After this punishment, on the same day, we 
are informed Kelsey, sought the wretched offender, 
and laid him dead at his feet, shooting him in the 
presence of several gentlemen, who remonstrated with 
him on the barbarity of the deed. This man Kelsey 
was afterwards murdered, as was also a brother-in- 
law, by the Indians of the neighborhood. Since then 
repeated acts of violence have been visited upon the 
natives, and our readers will remember the accounts 
which we published a few months since, of outrages 
committed in Sonoma and Napa, by a party of despe- 
rate white men. The Indians were driven to the 
mountains, and subsequently made depredatory incur- 
sions upon their old masters, driving away cattle, and 
indulging their natural propensity to steal. Com- 
plaints were made, — doubtless the accounts of their 
conduct highly colored, — to the garrisons of Benecia 
and Sonoma, and on the 1st of the month an expedi- 
tion was fitted out against them, composed of a detach- 
ment of infantry, and a company of dragoons, under 
command of Lieutenant Davidson, (seventy-five in all>) 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 225 

with orders to proceed against the Clear Lake Indians, 
and exterminate, if possible, the tribe. 

" The troops arrived in the vicinity of the lake, 
and came unexpectedly upon a body of Indians num- 
bering between two and three hundred. They imme- 
diately surrounded them, and as the Indians raised a 
shout of defiance and attempted escape, poured in a 
destructive fire indiscriminately upon men, women, and 
children. ' They fell,' says our informant, ' as grass 
before the sweep of the scythe.' Little or no resist- 
ance was encountered, and the work of butchery was 
of short duration. The shrieks of the slaughtered 
victims died away, the roar of muskets then ceased, 
and stretched lifeless upon the sod of their native 
valley were the bleeding bodies of these Indians — ■ 
nor sex, nor age was spared ; it was the order 
of extermination fearfully obeyed. The troops re- 
turned to the stations, and quiet is for the present 
restored." 

Here is the account of more Indian troubles. 

" Fight with the Sacramento Indians. — Trea- 
ty. — In consequence of depredations of the Indians of 
the Sacramento valley and outrages committed by them, 
General Thomas J. Green, 1st Division, State Militia, 
ordered out two companies of Mounted Volunteers, 
under command of Captain Allgiers and Captain 
Charles Hoyt, and marched from Oro, on the 17th of 
May, in the direction of Deer Creek. On the same 
day Lieutenant Bell, of Captain A.'s company, with 
ten men, encountered a large number of Indians, 
killed five, and took six prisoners. 

" On the 18th the command scoured the country in 
the region of Deer Creek and Bear River. On the 
10th, the trail to Colonel Holt's mill, where he was 



tJS HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 

murdered, was taken, the villages found to be deserted, 
and the white settlement abandoned. 

" On the 20th, the Indians, two or three hundred 
strong, were discovered within two miles of Bear 
River, upon an elevated conical hill. An engagement 
took place, in which eleven Indians were killed and a 
number wounded. About fifty of the state volunteers 
were engaged. None were killed, but Captain Hoyt, 
Lieutenant Lewis, and Mr. Russell were wounded. 
Major Frederick Emory (brother of Major Emory, 
United States Topographical Engineers of the bound- 
ary Commission,) was accidentally shot through the 
thigh with a rifle ball. He was aid-de-camp to General 
T. J. Green. 

" On the 25th, the Indian Chiefs Weimer, Buckler, 
and Pooliel, came in, by permission, and entered into 
a treaty of peace between the three tribes, severally 
represented, and the State of California and Govern- 
ment of the United States. The treaty is sensible 
and comprehensive." 

In the following, among other interesting intelli- 
gence, will be found an account of that which was 
expected long before it occurred — the resistance of 
some of the numerous body of foreign gold-seekers 
to the tax imposed upon them. The license tax is 
certainly a just one ; but the foreigners presumed 
upon their number and strength, that they had power 
sufficient to resist its imposition. The easy exci- 
tability of the Americans, upon any subject connected 
with their own soil is well known ; and it is exceeding- 
ly strange that a serious collision did not take place. 
We extract from the Alta Californian, of June 1st, 
1850. 

The Alta Californian has letters from Stockton to 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 227 

May 22d. On the Tuolumne, but little gold digging 
has been effeeted since last fall along the banks. The 
gold is under water, and preparations were making 
by companies to dam the streams to get at it. This 
work has been actively going on for five or six months. 
There is want of men at this kind of work, and eight 
or ten dollars a day is readily obtained. The dig- 
gings at Jamestown, Sonora, &c, have been partially 
deserted on account of new diggings discovered at Co- 
lumbia, three miles from Sonora, at the last accounts 
some two thousand persons had collected there, and 
town lots were selling at high prices. 

Sonora is growing very rapidly, being in the centre 
af an extensive mining Region. It is likely to be next 
to Stockton in size and importance. Discoveries of 
rich placers have been made in its vicinity lately ; 
some of the richest holes at Columbia are thirty, forty, 
and fifty feet deep. A serious difficulty has broken 
out at Sonora. A number of foreigners refused to 
comply with the law taxing them for the privilege of 
working the mines. A time was fixed by the collector 
to summon a posse of American citizens to prevent 
them from working. The day previous to the time 
fixed, the foreigners paraded with guns, &c, and rein- 
forcements of Americans were sent for from the 
neighboring towns. A letter from Stockton, dated 
May 22d, adds: 

" In the evening, the sheriff, Mr. Work, was ac- 
costed by a Mexican, who asked him if he was not an 
officer, or the officer who intended to enforce the pay- 
ment of the license. On replying that he was, the 
Mexican made an attempt to stab him, when a person 
standing by, named Clark, with a single stroke of a 
bowie knife, nearly severed his head from his body; 



228 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

Thirty armed Americans soon arrived from Mormon 
Gulch, and the whole American population were on 
the alert alJ night. 

" At last accounts there were two or three hundred 
Americans at Sonora, under arms, and others were 
hourly arriving. On Monday the excitement had 
somewhat abated. Hundreds of the Mexicans and 
Chileans were packing up and leaving for Stockton. 
Many of them disclaimed having had any intention 
of resorting to arms, and all were evidently more or 
less frightened at the aspect of affairs. It appears 
that the Mexicans who took part in the disturbance, 
were led on by some hot-headed Frenchman, lately 
arrived from France, of the Red Republican order. 
They found, however, that the majority of the Span- 
iards were not disposed to join them, and it is sup- 
posed that the whole affair will blow over without any 
very serious consequences. The affair will probably 
be a severe blow to business, for the present, in So- 
nora." 

The Stockton Times has a letter from Sonora, giv- 
ing the details of this difficulty. The foreigners said 
they were willing to pay four or five dollars per month, 
but that the amount demanded w T as utterly beyond 
their power to pay. They made this statement at an 
interview with the Governor. The letter goes on as 
follows : 

"During the discussion, an American who wished 
to get out of the crowd, began elbowing his way from 
the place where he stood, when a Mexican or Chilian, 
in front of him, drew a pistol. In a moment a dozen 
revolvers were out, and a precipitate retreat was made 
by the foreigners. No shot was fired, but the Mexi 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 229 

cans were alarmed, and the town was cleared in five 
minutes. Our peace now seemed threatened by about 
five thousand men outside, and no inconsiderable 
alarm was created in town. The citizens armed them- 
selves, and expresses were sent to Mormon Creek and 
Sullivan's Diggings, from which places about .five 
hundred well armed Americans arrived, and marched 
through the streets with guns and rifles on their 
shoulders. The demonstration was sufficient ; the 
crowds in the vicinity soon dispersed, and quiet was 
restored. The only thing to be feared, is the mis- 
guided zeal of our own citizens, who although gene- 
rally sympathizing with the discontent occasioned by 
the unjust tax, are incensed that the foreigners should 
presume to take the law into their own hands, and 
may not be willing to allow the affair to rest where 
it is. 

A serious affray took place this afternoon, in which 
a Mexican was seriously wounded. A man was 
noticed parading the streets with two or three pistols 
and a knife in his belt ; the man was intoxicated, and 
the sheriff arrested him, or rather took his arms from 
him. While in the act, a Mexican came up behind 
and made a stab at the officer with a large knife. The 
murderous intent was frustrated by a bystander, who, 
with a bowie knife, struck the man, wounding him 
severely. Mr. Work, the sheriff, was happily un- 
touched. 

This state of affairs, if allowed to last, will ruin 
the prosperity of the whole southern mines, and your 
own town of Stockton will be the first to suffer 
thereby. 

Monday, May 20. — A guard was kept up all last 

17 



230 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

night, but every thing was quiet, and as I said yester 
day, I believe the danger, if any was to be appre- 
hended, had passed away. But the excitable feelings 
of the hundreds of Americans now under arms had to 
be indulged, and hearing that a camp, mostly com- 
posed of foreigners, situated about seven miles from 
Sonora, had mounted Mexican, Chilian, and French 
flags, (what truth there is in the report, I know not,) 
they have started out this morning to avenge the in- 
sult, and chastise the temerity of the "greasers" and 
"outsiders." I sincerely trust there will be good 
sense enough in the party to refrain from wanton ag- 
gression. 

Gov. Burnett has sent Hon. John Bidwell and Judge 
H. A. Schoolcraft in charge of the block of stone con- 
tributed by California to the Washington Monument. 
It is thus described : 

" This block of gold-bearing quartz, is from the 
Mariposa diggings, near Fremont's mines, and weighs 
about one hundred and twenty-five pounds. In shape 
it is irregular, approaching a square, its sides varying 
from eighteen to twenty inches in length. It averages 
in thickness nine inches — across its face diagonally it 
is twenty-one inches by measurement. Very little 
gold is perceptible to the naked eye, but it is estimated 
to contain about eighty dollars worth." 

Since the above events were recorded, another most 
disastrous fire has occurred in the city of San Fran- 
cisco. It broke out in the Sacramento House, situated 
in the wealthiest portion of the city, on the 17th of 
June, 1850, at eight o'clock, A. M., and in the short 
space of three hours, about two-thirds of the wealthiest 
district was consumed. The shipping in the harbor 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 231 

was only saved by the greatest exertion. The entire 
loss is estimated at from three to four millions of 
dollars. This event occurring so soon after the pre- 
vious fire, has had a depressing and gloomy effect upon 
the business operations, not only of San Francisco, 
but of Sacramento City also. Many of the heaviest 
trading houses have been entirely ruined ; and others 
brought to the verge of it. Several individuals, includ- 
ing the Mayor of the city, distinguished themselves 
by their noble and generous exertions to arrest the 
progress of the fire and save property. 

The emigration to California by way of the over- 
land route is six times as great during the present 
year as it was in 1849. The last company left Coun 
cil Bluffs, on the 15th of June. They brought up the 
rear of near four thousand wagons, ten or twelve 
thousand persons, and about twenty thousand head of 
horses and cattle. The continued success of the gold 
diggers and the extraordinary prospect in regard tc 
the quantity that will be obtained during the mining 
season of 1850, serves to keep up the excitement and 
to allure the emigrant to the golden land. 

There is a prospect that the seat of government of 
California will be removed from San Jose' to the pro- 
posed new city of Vallejo, about twenty miles above 
San Francisco, near the Straits of Carquinez, and at 
the junction of the Napa and San Pablo Bays. 
The new city has already been surveyed, and a 
company of influential capitalists organized, with the 
determination to "go ahead," whether the capital is 
or is not established at this point. The site no doubt 
presents many advantages for a large commercial city, 
not possessed by San Francisco. The distance from 



232 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

the " Golden Gates," (as the entrance from the Pacific 
to the succession of bays connected with the harbor 
of San Francisco is termed) is about the same as San 
Francisco. The harbor is one of the safest and most 
commodious in the world, and the commissioners 
appointed by the general government to make surveys 
and decide upon the best location, have to recommend 
Mare's Island, half a mile from Vallejo, as the naval 
depot of the United States in California. The climate 
of Vallejo is delightful, and the place is never sub- 
jected to those strong and cold northerly winds which 
render San Francisco so disagreeable as a residence 
and so dangerous as a commercial city. There is 
plenty of marble for building purposes in the immediate 
vicinity of Vallejo, and plenty of limestone at a con- 
venient distance, and easily obtainable. The new 
city will command a most beautiful view of San Pablo 
Bay and of the country adjacent, and the Napa valley 
(through which the Napa River flows, and near the 
mouth of which the city is located,) and the Sonoma 
valley in the vicinity are among the most fertile in 
California. Near Vallejo are also mineral springs, 
possessing similar properties, and said to equal the 
celebrated Congress Springs at Saratoga. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 283 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE MINERALOGICAL AND OTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF 
GOLD, AND THE MODE OF DISTINGUISHING IT WHEN 
FOUND ; TOGETHER WITH THE ASSAY, REDUCTION, 
AND REFINEMENT OF GOLD. 

For the purpose of presenting all that is connected 
with that precious metal, that has built up a state 
within a few years, and of making the reader fully 
acquainted with all that is necessary for the gold- 
seeker to know, we will now describe, in some detail, 
the natural history, character of gold, and the mode 
of determining its presence and value. 

Gold invariably exhibits something of the peculiar 
yellow color which it is known to possess in a pure 
state ; but this color is modified by various metals 
with which it may be mixed. Thus it may be described 
as having various shades of gold-yellow ; occasionally 
approaching silver-white, occasionally resembling 
brass-yellow of every degree of intensity, and even 
verging on steel-gray in some specimens from South 
America. 

The lustre of gold is highly metallic and shining, 
and owing to the small amount of oxidation at its sur- 
face, it preserves its shining lustre even after long 
exposure in contact with other substances. Thus the 
shining particles are often seen in sand when the 
quantity is barely sufficient to repay the cost of work- 
ing, notwithstanding the value of the metal. Even 



234 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

however, if the surface is dull, the true color and appear- 
ance are easily restored bj rubbing, and when polished 
it takes a very vivid lustre, which is preserved for a 
long time in the atmosphere. 

Although in the division which has been intro- 
duced into gold-yellow, brass-yellow, and grayish- 
yellow, native gold seems with some slight modifica- 
tions to agree with the geological relations of its 
varieties, yet this mode of arrangement deserves little 
serious notice. The gold-yellow varieties comprise 
the specimens of the highest gold-yellow colors, though 
there are some among them which have rather a pale 
color ; they include most of the crystals and of the 
imitative shapes, in fact the greater part of the species 
itself. The brass-yellow native gold is confined to 
some of the regular and imitative shapes of a pale 
color (which is generally called brass-yellow,) and, as 
it is said, of a less specific gravity than the preceding 
one ; but this does not seem to have ever been ascer- 
tained by direct experiment. The grayish-yellow 
native gold occurs only in those small flat grains which 
are mixed with the native platina, and possess a yellow 
color a little inclining to gray ; they are said to have 
the greatest specific gravity of them all. The real 
foundation of this distribution seems to be the opinion 
that the first are the purest, the second mixed with a 
little silver, and the third with platina. It is not 
known whether the latter admixture really takes place, 
but it is certain that several varieties of gold-yellow 
native gold contain an admixture of silver * 

In color and lustre, inexperienced persons might 
mistake various substances for gold ; these are chiefly 

* Mohs' Mineralogy, by Haidinger, vol. ii. p. 438. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 235 

iron and copper pyrites, but from them it may bo 
readily distinguished, being softer than steel and very 
malleable ; whereas iron pyrites is harder than steel, 
and copper pyrites is not malleable ; for although the 
latter mineral yields easily to the point of a knife, it 
crumbles when we attempt to cut or hammer it, whereas 
gold may be separated in thin slices, or beaten out 
into thin plates by the hammer. There can thus be 
no possible difficulty in distinguishing these various 
minerals in a native state, even with nothing but an 
ordinary steel knife. From any other minerals, as 
mica, whose presence has also misled some persons, 
gold is easily known by very simple experiments with 
a pair of scales, or even by careful washing with water, 
for gold being much heavier than any other substance 
found with it (except platina and one or two extremel}' 
rare metals,) will always fall first to the bottom, if 
shaken in water with mud, while mica will generally 
be the last material to fall. This is the case, 
however fine or few the particles of either mineral 
may be. 

Gold therefore can be distinguished by its relative 
weight or specific gravity, and by its relative hardness, 
from other bodies which resemble it. It is described 
generally as soft, completely malleable and flexible, 
but more accurately as softer than iron, copper or 
silver, but harder than tin or lead. It is useful to 
know facts of this kind, as a simple experiment that 
can be made with instruments at hand, is often more 
valuable than a much more accurate examination 
requiring materials not immediately available. Thus 
if it is found that a specimen (perhaps a small scale or 
spangle) is readily scratched by silver, copper or iron, 
and scratches tin and lead, it may, if of the right 



236 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

color and sinking rapidly in water, be fairly assumed 
to be gold. 

The weight of gold, as of all substances, it is con- 
venient to estimate relatively, and in comparison with 
the weight of an equal volume of water. The relative 
weight, or specific gravity r , as it is called, of gold, is 
remarkably high, the lightest varieties being twelve 
times heavier than water, and pure gold nineteen 
times. This is expressed by saying that the specific 
gravity of native gold is 12 — 19, and the number 
determined by comparing the weight of the mineral in 
water and air. 

As the value of gold depends almost entirely on its 
specific gravity, and this test, therefore, is of the 
greatest practical importance, it will not be out of 
place if we here explain some very simple apparatus 
for the determination of this point. 

If the specimen then is large enough to be sus- 
pended conveniently by a thread, weigh it first in air 
by a fine balance, expressing the result in grains, and 
taking care previously to remove dust or loosely adher- 
ing particles. Then suspend it by a horsehair from 
the scale-pan (it is convenient to have a hook attached 
to it for this purpose,) and thus suspended, immerse 
it and re-weigh it in water, taking care that it is 
covered on all sides by at least half an inch of water, 
and carefully brushing off with a feather any bubbles 
of air that adhere to the surface. The results may 
then be noted as follows : — 

Weight of sul>stance in the air in grains .... 

I>educt weight of ditto in water ■ 

Difference . . . 



This result gives the weight of a bulk of waifti 



niSTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 237 

equal to that of the specimen, and by dividing the 
weight of the specimen in air by this number, the 
specific gravity is obtained. 

. weight of substance in air 
P & J weight of equal bulk of water 

If, however, the substance is in the form of fine 
sand, or very small lumps, it is better, after weighing 
it carefully, to take a small dry phial furnished with a 
stopper ; counterpoise this phial accurately in the 
weight-scale by shot or strips of lead, then fill it com- 
pletely with pure wat )r, taking care that no bubbles 
of air are left in, and weigh the quantity of water it 
contains : afterwards empty the bottle and dry it 
inside. 

Next fill the bottle about two-thirds full of the 
powder to be examined, weigh this and record the 
weight. Then fill the bottle once more with water, 
taking care, as before, that all bubbles are expelled 
and none of the powder washed out. Once more 
weigh it. 

We have then to make the following calculation : 

Weight of powder and water in grains = 
Deduct weight of powder alone = 



Difference (weight of water left in bottle) = 



Weight of bottle full of water in grains = 
Weight of water left in bottle = 

Difference (weight of water displaced 1 _ 
by, and equal in bulk to, powder) J 

_,, ._ . weight of powder in air 

The specific gravity= — °, c , — -r. — ; ; 

r & J weight of water displaced. 

It may be useful to know the specific gravity of 

various substances at all resembling gold in weight or 
Li 



238 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 



appearance, and we therefore append the following 
short table. The specific gravity of water is assumed 
to be unity : — 

... 21} 

-22 not hammered. 



Osmium . . 


. • 21* 


Platinum . 


. . 19^—221 


Iridium . . 


. • i*A 


Gold . . . 


. . 15| — 19i 


Mercury . . 


. . 13* 


Palladium . 


. . lift 


Lead . . . 


. . m 


Rhodium 


. . . 10f 


Silver . . 


. . . 10 


Copper . 


. . . 7f— 8 


Brass . . 


. . 8£ 


Lead ore (ga 


Jena) 7£ 


Copper pyri 


tes . 5 


Iron pyrites 


. . 4 


Diamond 


. . . 31 


Sand 


. . 2f— 3 



ditto 



By the help of this table the value of auriferous 
sand may also be in some degree estimated, since, as 
will be seen, the specific gravity of most of the sands 
is under 3, while that of the most impure gold is 12 ; 
bo that if the specific gravity of the sands them- 
selves, when experimented on, is much greater than 
that of ordinary sand, it is likely that the excess will 
be for the most part gold, in a district otherwise known 
to be auriferous : the greater the specific gravity, too, 
the greater probability there is, of this being the cause. 
It may also be worth while to mention here, that the 
specific gravity of those pepitas or lumps of gold which 
present a fine yellow color varies generally from 14/^ 
to 18 T 8 ; but when much paler they may range as low 

* A very rough estimate of the value of specimens of native gold 
may be obtained by multiplying the specific gravity by 4 ; the result 
gives the value in shillings nearly. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 239 

as 12J, which is that of a mineral called electrum, 
which will be described presently, and which is a mix- 
ture of silver and gold. 

When a piece of gold is broken (which is not done 
without difficulty — greater in proportion to its purity,) 
the fractured edges are very uneven and torn, exhibit- 
ing a peculiar fibrous appearance, known to mineralo- 
gists as "fine hackly." This fracture indicates that 
the mineral is torn asunder and not really broken, 
and is a proof of considerable toughness. 

The form in which gold is found is various. It is 
sometimes crystalline, in eight or twelve-sided regular 
figures, passing into cubes, but the crystals are gene- 
rally small and rare. In case of such crystals being 
found, it is well worth knowing that they possess a 
value as mineral specimens far beyond that of the 
gold which they contain. 

More frequently the metal is found in lumps or 
grains, called by the Spaniards pepitas, varying in 
size from that of a pin's head to masses weighing, as 
has been already mentioned, nearly one hundred 
pounds troy. The term pepita is only applied to 
grains of some magnitude, and the most common 
limits of size are from that of a small pin's head to 
that of a nut or gooseberry. 

When much smaller and still rounded, they are 
called gold dust, and when flattened, scales or span- 
gles. In nature, and when seen in veins of quartz, 
gold often occurs foliated, or in leafy expansions of 
extreme thinness, or in branchy (dendritic) forms, 
probably made up of minute crystals. It is in the 
form of very minute grains that the metal is generally 
disseminated through rocks and auriferous ores of 
various metals, and these are reduced according to 



240 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA, 

circumstances in methods that will be alluded to m a 
future chapter. In pepitas and small grains it is car- 
ried down by streams and deposited in their beds, the 
pepitas being usually most abundant where there is 
reason to suppose considerable disintegration of the 
surface, and where the action of denuding causes to a 
creat extent is evident. The coast of Africa and the 

c 

rivers of Europe are examples of the former case, 
while the Siberian deposits and those of California 
would appear to belong to the latter. 

The following are examples of the constituent parts 
of various specimens of gold obtained from different 
gold districts, and will form a useful guide for com- 
parison. 

Table showing the Composition of Native Gold,* 



Locality. Gold. ' Silver. Copper. | Iron. 



Auriferous sand of Schabrowski, near Kathe- 

rinenburg, Siberia (G. Rose). 

Boruschka, near Nijny-Tagilsk, Siberia (Rose)- 

Brazil (Dareet) 

Beresovsk, Siberia (Rose) 

Sand near Miask, Siberia (Rose) 

Bogota (Boussingault) 

Washings near Miask, Siberia (Rose) 

Gold of Senegal (Dareet) -. 

Auriferous sand, Nijny-Tagilsk, Siberia (Rose) 

Trinidad gold, (Boussingault) 

Transylvanian gold (Ditto) 

Mine of Sinarowski in the Altai (Rose) 



98-76 
94-41 



0-16 

5-23 



94-00 5-85 
&3-7S 5*94 
92-47 ' 7-27 
92-00 8-00 
S9-35 I 10-65 
86-97 10-53 
83-85 16.15 
82-40 ! 17-00 
64-52 1 35-48 
60J08 I 38-38 



0-35 
0-39 



0-08 
0i>6 



0.33 



0-05 
0.04 



0-OS 



The gold from California, according to the assay 
of Mr. Warwick of New York, yields 89-58 per cent, 
pure gold, and is therefore, about equal to that ob- 
tained from the washings of Miask (the richest district 
in Western Siberia, and that producing the largest 
pepitas,) and superior, as the assayer remarks, to the 
gold dust from Senegal. 

There is a remarkable mixture of native gold with 

* Abridged froni Dufresnoy's "Mineralogie." 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 241 

silver occasionally found in Siberia, and known under 
the name of cleetrum. Its color is pale brass-yellow, 
passing into silver-white. It occurs in small plates 
and imperfect cubes, and possesses many of the charac- 
ters of gold, but it consists only of 64 per cent, of that 
metal, and 36 per cent, silver. It is at once known 
by its low specific gravity, which does not exceed 1 2. 

Other mixtures of gold are (1) a rhodium-gold 
found in Mexico, and containing 84 to 43 per cent, of 
rhodium, having a specific gravity of 15| — 16*8, and 
a clear, dirty yellow color ; and (2) a palladium-gold 
(containing 9.85 per cent, palladium, and 447 per 
cent, silver) found in Brazil and elsewhere in South 
America, in small crystalline grains of pale yellow 
color. The auriferous ores of tellurium, including 
silver, have hitherto only been found in Transylvania. 
Their color is steel-gray, and they tarnish on exposure- 
The variety called graphic-gold, or graphic tellurium, 
consists of about 60 per cent, of tellurium, 30 per cent, 
gold, and 10 per cent, silver, and is worked chiefly 
as an ore of gold. Another variety, "yellow gold 
glance," yields somewhat less tellurium, gold and 
silver, and as much as 20 per cent, of lead. 

Having now explained at some length the more 
manifest characteristics of gold, namely, its color, 
hardness, and specific gravity, it is necessary, before 
explaining the mode of separating it from associated 
minerals, that we should here give some account of 
the behavior of this metal under the blowpipe, and 
when exposed to simple cheinica.l tests. The assay 
of gold and its accurate analysis, we postpone for tho 
present. 

The method of blowpipe analysis, although exceed- 
ingly useful, is not absolutely necessary in the case 



242 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

of gold, because of the many readier ways of deter* 
mining the metal, but it seems advisable to state the 
appearances presented. All the varieties are readily 
fusible into a globule, which when the gold is pure, is 
unaltered by the continuance of the heat. In this 
respect it differs entirely from iron and copper pyrites, 
which, on being exposed to the flame, give off sulphur 
fumes and undergo considerable change. In the case 
of gold containing other metals, these, with the ex- 
ception of silver, may generally be got rid of by con- 
tinuing the heat in the exterior flame with the addi- 
tion of a little nitre. Before the oxy-hydrogen blow- 
pipe, the metal is volatilized in the form of a purple 
oxide. 

Gold is not acted on by any of the acids alone. 
When exposed to the mixture of nitric with hydro- 
chloric acid (in the proportion of one part nitric to four 
of hydrochloric) called aqua regia, it dissolves without 
residue, the solution giving a purple precipitate with 
protochloride of tin, and a brown precipitate with pro- 
tosulphate of iron. Electrum, the mixture of silver 
with gold above alluded to, is only partially soluble in 
aqua regia, giving a residue of chloride of silver. The 
solution is acted on by protosulphate of iron, as already 
explained. 

The following simple mode of detecting attempts 
at imposition in gold dust is worthy of being recorded 
in this place. 

Place a little gold dust in a glass tube or earthen- 
ware saucer, and pour nitric acid upon it; then 
hold the glass or saucer over a flame, or upon a few 
embers, until red flames (nitric vapors) arise; if it 
be pure gold, the liquid will not become discolored ; 
but if pyrites or brass-filings should have been mixed 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 243 

with it, the acid will become turbid, green, and black, 
discharging bubbles of gas. After the ebullition has 
ceased, the residue should be washed with water, and 
acid again poured upon it, when the same effect may 
be observed, but in a less degree ; and if the experi- 
ment be repeated till all effervescence ceases, it will 
finally leave the gold dust pure. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

ADDITIONAL RECENT EVENTS. 

The history of the laws of a State affords the best idea 
of its social condition — present and prospective ; for 
they are framed from the necessity of circumstances 
and the demands of the inhabitants. We may, there- 
fore, see the condition and the progress of the Cali- 
fornians in their legislative transactions. 

The California Legislature adjourned on the 22d 
April. They have passed a law creating a State 
assayer, until a mint be established in California. 
Among the one hundred and forty-three acts and 
joint resolutions passed, we notice the following : 

To incorporate the cities of Benecia, San Diego, San 
Jose, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sonoma, and Santa 
Barbara, and a general act for the incorporation of 
cities ; concerning the State revenue, etc, and its man- 
agement ; creating loans temporarily, appropriations, 
and other fiscal acts ; relating to the appointment of 
pilots, regulating the duties of harbor masters, declar- 
ing certain rivers, etc., navigable, creating health 



244 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

officers for San Francisco, creating a marine hospital, 
regulating quarantine at San Francisco, providing for 
the inspection of steamboats ; subdividing the State 
into counties, establishing county seats and providing 
for the complete organization of all the counties ; or- 
ganizing the supreme court, providing for the early pub- 
lication of the laws, organizing district courts through- 
out the State, establishing a municipal court in San 
Francisco, abolishing all laws in force in the State, ex- 
cept such as were passed by this Legislature, adopting 
the common law, regulating the interest of money, 
public ferries, notaries public, jails and jailers, 
limited partnerships, roads and highways, public elec- 
tions, volunteer companies, wills, militia, liens of 
mechanics and others, descents and distributions, bills 
of exchange and promissory notes, constables, coro- 
ners, guardians, fraudulent conveyances and contracts, 
the rights of husband and wife, incorporation of col- 
leges, marriages, auctioneers, government and protec- 
tion of the Indians, settlement of the estates of de- 
ceased persons, proceedings against debtor by attach- 
ment; creating the office of State assayer, melter 
and refiner of gold, to regulate Senatorial and As- 
sembly districts, prescribing the mode of maintaining 
and defending possessory actions on lands belonging 
to the United States ; to prevent the importation of 
convicts ; for the better regulation of the mines and the 
government of foreign miners, the national Washington 
monument, pay of chaplain, the Pacific railway, and 
concerning grants of land by the General Govern- 
ment to commissioned officers who served in the late 
war with Mexico. 

Here we have all the machinery necessary for the full 
regulation of a large, commercial, agricultural, manu- 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 245 

facturing, and mining community. The session of the 
Legislature must have been laborious, indeed ; but 
the members have acquitted themselves of their ar- 
duous duties rapidly and well. One great measure 
adopted by the Legislature was the substitution of 
the common law for the uncertain civil law which 
existed in California when ceded to the United States. 
The whole legal administration will now conform to 
that of most of the other States of the Union. The 
provisions in the Constitution for the purpose of edu- 
cation, have been nobly carried out by an act for the 
incorporation of colleges. 

Agriculture in California appears to be improving, 
and as it is getting to be as profitable as any thing 
else, it is attracting increased attention. Boxes of 
garden seeds which had cost nine dollars, have been 
sold for one hundred dollars, and scythes which cost 
three dollars, sold for forty-five dollars. The seeds 
which were sent around Cape Horn, were almost use- 
less, while those which went over the Isthmus, her- 
metically sealed, came up first. One man near San 
Jose, has made fifty thousand dollars by raising pota- 
toes. What toil in digging and washing gold would 
be necessary to realize that amount ! 

Among the recent mining incidents, the following 
is remarkable : — Last winter, three men accidentally 
struck upon a rich deposit of gold, in a gulch about 
twelve miles from Knight's Ferry, on the Stanislaus 
River, and four or five miles back from it. They 
worked this vein with great success, managing to keep 
it a secret, until an Indian, wandering through the 
locality, discovered the secret, and communicated it 
to his tribe. The next day, several hundred Indians 
fell to work, with the same success ; but as they spent 
L* 18 



246 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

their earnings in gambling and drinking at night, 
they incautiously let out the secret, and it spread 
among the whites. The latter, without scruple, took 
possession of the ground, and set the Indians adrift. 
An alcalde was elected, the ground staked off, and 
allotted to the several claimants. This gulch, although 
rifled of its richest treasures, afforded good digging 
for a large number of persons, for some weeks, many 
carrying away, when the water failed, a thousand 
dollars and upwards, as the result of their labors. 
The three discoverers of the gulch, took away with 
them about forty pounds of gold to each man, all 
scraped up in the short space of seven weeks. 

Imitation lumps of gold have been made and brought 
into circulation in California. The State Assayer 
states that above forty specimens have been brought 
to his notice. They are generally in size from four 
to five ounces to a pound in weight — quartz, and every 
thing else necessary to make them look right, properly 
intermixed. 

It ha& been definitely settled that gold does exist in 
the vicinity of San Jose\ Specimens have been taken 
to San Francisco. 

Several artesian wells have been constructed at San 
Francisco, since the second great fire, and it is thought 
that others will soon add to the comfort and conve- 
nience of the people of that city. The want of good 
water for drinking purposes, has been the most serious 
objection to San Francisco as a place of residence ; 
and additional incentive to exertion in the matter is 
furnished by the constant apprehension of destructive 
fires.* 

* The Alta Californian, of the 1st of May, 1850, furnishes us with 
an interesting account of the origin and meaning of the names ©J 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 247 

Coal has been discovered in California, in various 
places, and is reported to abound in considerable 
quantities in the neighborhood of San Francisco. 
Every day developes some new wealth of this land of 

places in the new State. We have elsewhere alluded to the name 
California, as being derived from calienlc and fornalla, two Spanish 
words, together signifying hot furnace. 

Pueblo de los Angeles— City of the Angels. So named from the fer- 
tility of the soil, the geniality of the climate, &c. 

San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, Santa 
Cruz, San Francisco, were all originally Catholic missionary stations 
and were so named by the priests. 

Monterey signifies literally king of forests, and was so called in 
honor of Count Monterey, as well as from the neighboring forest of 
massive pines and other trees. 

Contra Costa, the name of a county, signifies opposite coast, from 
its being opposite San Francisco. Mount Diablo, which is in this 
county, was named from the following circumstance: 

In 1806 a military expedition from San Francisco marched against 
the tribe " Bolgones," who were encamped at the foot of the mount ; 
the Indians were prepared to receive the expedition, and a hot en- 
gagement ensued in the large hollow fronting the western side of the 
mount. As the victory was about to be decided in favor of the Indians, 
an unknown personage, decorated with the most extraordinary plu- 
mage, and making divers movements, suddenly appeared near the 
combatants. The Indians were victorious, and the incognitio (Puy) 
departed toward the mount. The defeated soldiers, on ascertaining 
that the spirit went through the same ceremony daily and at all hours, 
named the mount "Diablo," in allusion to its mysterious inhabitant, 
that continued thus to make his strange appearance, until the tribe 
was subdued by the troops in command of Lieutenant Gabriel Mo- 
raga, in a second campaign of the same year. In the aboriginal 
tongue "Puy" signifies "Evil Spirit;" in Spanish it means Diablo, 
and Devil in the Anglo-American language. 

Calaveras signifies skulls, and the creek thus styled was named from 
the fact of three thousand skulls having been found lying on its banks 
by its early discoverers. They were the remnants of a great battle be- 
tween the Indians. 

Tuolumne, which has been spelt so many different ways in tho 
letters from California, is a corruption of the Indian word "talma- 
lamme," a cluster of stone wigwams. 

Mariposa means butterfly. The river was so named in 1807, by a 
hunting party of Californians, from the fact of their encampment 
there having been surrounded by myriads of most gorgeous butterflies, 

Solano was so named after a celebrated Catholic missionary. 

Yolo is a corruption of the Indian word " Yoloy," and means aplac* 
abounding with rushes. 



248 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

treasure, and we regard the discovery of the abundance 
of coal as in the highest degree important to the resi- 
dents of California. Even amid the news of the 
extraordinary yield of the gold region during the 
present year, 1850, when a single vessel, in one trip, 
brings $2,000,000 worth of gold dust to the United 
States, we can pause to notice the discovery of the 
more useful substances. 

The Trinity River and Humboldt Harbor, in the 
north-western part of California, have lately become a 
resort for the superfluous population of the Sacramento 
and San Joaquin regions. The harbor is pronounced 
a very good one, and the discovery of abundance of 
gold on the branches of Trinity River, will, doubtless, 
contribute to the building of a large town upon its 
shores. 

In the middle of June, there was much excitement 
in San Francisco, caused by the reported discovery 
of a gold lake, among the mountains between the South 
Fork of Feather River and the Yuba. One man was 
eaid to have got $7000 in four days, and a party of 
ten Kanakas were reported to have got $75,000 in a 



Marin was so designated after a great Indian chief, who made wai 
bo desperately against the Spaniards. 

Sonoma is an Indian word, signifying valley of the moon. The In- 
dians so named the valley in which the present town of that title is 
situated. 

Napa was the name of the Indian tribe who inhabited the valley 
of the same name. 

Mendocino was so named after the first Viceroy of Mexico. 

Yuba, a corruption of " uba," orig inally alluded to the immense 
quantities of vines which shaded the river. 

Butte is a French word signifying hill, and was given by a party 
of hunters from the Hudson Bay Company to a range of high hilla 
in the valley of the Sacramento. From thence the county is named 

Coluse county was so called after an Indian tribe of which it was 
the name. 

Shalta county is so styled after an Indian tribe also. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 249 

week. A vast number of people were by this means 
attracted to the sources of the Feather and Yuba 
Rivers, and though they found the lake story a hoax 
of a vile character, they found tolerably fair diggings, 
which would console them for their disappointment. 

The following extract from the Placer Times of 
the 17th of July, 1850, under the head of " Great 
Discoveries of Gold — Gold Lake," will afford the 
reader a lively conception of the degree of excitement 
caused in California by every new announcement of 
a newly discovered locality abounding in gold : 

" We were inclined to give only an average degree 
of credit to stories that have reached us during the 
past few days, of the unprecedented richness which 
this locality has developed. A few moments passed 
in Marysville on Saturday, convinced us that there is 
much more show of reality in this last eureka report, 
than usually attaches to the like. In a year's experi- 
ence of local excitements from the same cause, we 
have seen none equal to what now prevails in that 
town. It has visited all the inhabitants indiscrimi- 
nately, lawyers, doctors and judges, traders, teamsters, 
mechanics and gamblers. Our readers know we are 
the last to justify the circulation of unfounded or 
exaggerated reports, but we deem it right to conceal 
nothing of what may prove (for aught that we can see 
to the contrary) one of the most astounding discoveries 
in the modern history of diggings. The specimens 
brought into Marysville are of a value from $1600 
down. Ten ounces is reported as no unusual yield to 
a panfull, and the first party of sixty, which started 
out under the guidance of one who had returned sue* 
cessful, were assured that they would not get less than 
$500 each per day. We were told that the previous 



250 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

morning two hundred had left the town with a full 
supply of provisions and four hundred mules. Those 
who could not go were hiring others in their stead. 
3 he length of the journey and the quantity of provi- 
sions required, there being no stores in the region, 
rendered an outfit rather expensive. Mules and 
horses had doubled in value, and $400 were considered 
no more than enough to furnish a proper start. 

The distance to Gold Lake was first reported two 
hundred miles ; the best informed, however, say that 
it is but little more than half of that. It lies at a 
very considerable elevation among the mountains that 
divide the waters of the South Fork of Feather from 
those of the north branch of the Yuba. The direction 
from Marys ville is a little north of east. The story 
has of course spread ere this far and wide among the 
miners high up on the Feather and Yuba, and the 
spot will be as crowded as all other good places are, 
ere the tardy adventurer from this region could reach 
it. The region of the Gold Lake wonders is a new 
one, however, and lies between what are established 
to be diggings of unsurpassed richness. It is our 
belief that it is better for one who has got some initia- 
tion into the gold mysteries, (if there be any,) not to 
be content in old ' used up' localities, but to push along 
to the great field yet unexplored ; and that, though 
the search be long and laborious, the big lift is ulti- 
mately pretty sure for those who are patient and per- 
severing. 

The same paper of July 18th, contains additional 
particulars, having a tendency to add plausibility to 
the reports. Among other things, a man by the name 
of McLelland came into Marysville on the 17th, with 
00, the result of four days' labor at Gold Lake. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 251 

Whatever may be the truth of the reports, there is no 
doubt of one thing — the whole population of Marys- 
ville and its vicinity have become infected by the news, 
and are taking up their march thitherwards in crowds. 

The Transcript speaks rather doubtingly on the 
subject ; it says — " The reports come as a general 
thing, through teamsters and other persons whose 
interest it is to give as favorable accounts as possible. 
The statements are very conflicting." 

To this we may add the statement of a gentleman 
who reached this city from Marysville, direct, on 
Tuesday night. The excitement, he says, is great; 
but no one could give any definite information of the 
locality or of its productiveness. Yet all seemed to 
think there was no doubt in the matter, and as many 
as could get away were starting, or getting ready to 
push for the new El Dorado. Upon his way down, on 
board the boat, he conversed with a man who professed 
to have explored that region lately, although he did 
not claim to know where Gold Lake was. But between 
the North Fork of the Yuba and Feather Rivers, at 
the foot of the great chain of mountains, he reported 
a series of lakes of various dimensions, and " two 
thousand people," prospecting all about. The snow 
was very deep — " six feet" — and but little gold. 

The following extract from the Placer Times, is the 
most positive information within our knowledge. 

On the arrival of the " Lawrence," yesterday, from 
Marysville, we received more news of the Gold Lake 
excitement, now prevailing in those parts. It pro- 
mises to spare no one. Many who would not be 
understood to have yielded to it, seek, under various 
pretences, to get away — some pleading business in 
other quarters of the mines ; others desiring the recrea- 



252 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

tion of a country jaunt. It is reported that, up to 
Thursday last, two thousand persons had taken up 
their journey ; that many who were working good 
claims, and had made considerable progress, were 
deserting them for the new discovery. Mules and 
horses were almost impossible to be obtained. A 
supply from this quarter was expected daily, and most 
anxiously awaited. Although the truth of the report 
rest on the authority of but two or three who have 
returned from Gold Lake, yet but few are found who 
doubt their marvellous revelations. The first man 
who came into Marysville took out a party of forty as 
guide, on condition they paid him one hundred dollars 
each if his story was verified, and offering his life as a 
forfeit for any deception. 

" This party, it is understood, came near losing their 
way, from the difficulty the guide found in retracing 
his path, after the snow had melted. Fortunately, 
however, they encountered another man, who was on 
his way returning, and he showed the track. The 
second person has since left with a much larger party, 
who are to give him two hundred dollars each, and 
the same forfeit is provided. The spot is described 
as very difficult of approach, and it is feared that 
many will lose their way. A party of ten Kanakas 
are reported to have wintered at Gold Lake, subsist- 
ing chiefly on the flesh of their animals. They are 
said to have taken out about $75,000 the first week. 
The lake is not large, and, after the wet season ceases, 
has no outlet ; at present, however, the water runs 
over the basin, and finds its way into the North Fork 
of Feather River. At a lower stage, it admits of 
easy drainage, and the undertaking is already pro- 
jected. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 25^ 

" Of course the most extravagant anticipations are 
founded on the result of this work, induced by the 
yield from the borders of the lake which have already 
been realized. The " placer" proper is very limited, 
and little encouragement is given as to the character 
of the surrounding country; indeed, it is probably 
entirely unexplored, as the region lies about as far 
up among the snows as the most adventurous have yet 
penetrated." 

The Yuba River is destined to be thoroughly rifled 
of its wealth. Three miles above the new town of 
Lina, a company has turned the river from its course, 
and made it run through a lateral slough. Prospect- 
ing of the bed has proved very satisfactory, and the 
shares in the company's stock have sold at a high rate. 

As was apprehended, various difficulties have oc- 
curred between the owners of land at Sacramento City, 
and a large number of squatters upon it. The ground 
was bought and surveyed, and the title to ownership 
was perfect. But the number of emigrants who 
arrive at Sacramento at particular seasons forces 
them to encamp outside of the regularly built town, 
and when thus encamped, they consider themselves 
as settlers, and are unwilling to give up possession of 
the ground. The power of the law has been called 
into requisition several times to eject these squatters. 

The emigrants to California by way of the Great 
Salt Lake route have endured terrible hardships during 
the present year. The rigors of the season, and the 
want of water, have been but secondary matters. The 
Indians, always unfriendly, have been particularly 
hostile, and several battles between them and the emi- 
grants have taken place. In one of the battles, thirty 
Indians were killed, while the whites had several 

22 



254 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

wounded, but none killed. It is supposed that the 
assailants belonged to the Utahs. The Salt Lake 
City is the great refuge of the belated emigrants upon 
that route, and the Mormons are hospitable to all who 
visit them for shelter, or for mere curiosity. 

The great body of the emigrants continue to take 
the old route, which we have elsewhere described, and 
find that it is the safest and shortest of the land 
routes. Judging from the statements of the number 
of emigrants who have passed Fort Laramie this sea- 
son, we should say, that the route could scarcely be 
called a wilderness, when it is impossible to travel 
thirty miles without meeting with parties and families 
of whites. Part of this tide of emigration will flow 
to Oregon, no doubt, on account of the fertile lands 
to be there obtained ; but the golden land will get the 
bulk of it. 

In a recent tour through the region bordering on 
Moqueleme River, in California, a couple of gentle- 
men from Stockton, discovered a cave or grotto of 
great extent. They found that it contained large 
quantities of stalactite, and saw evidences of gold. 
The Indians who accompanied the gentlemen were 
horror stricken at their audacity, when they entered 
a cave which tradition said no man returned from 
alive. The skeleton of a human being was found at 
some distance from the opening. 

An event has occurred which will no doubt exercise 
a great influence on California affairs. This is the 
discovery of the existence of abundance of gold in 
Oregon territory. The discovery created great ex- 
citement through the various cities and towns of 
Oregon, and the northern towns of California. That 
\shicb is exhibited, shows an entirely different charao- 



niSTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 255 

tcr to any of that dug in the mines of California. It 
contains large quantities of platina, and is said to be 
of a richer character. The mines just discovered are 
situated about two hundred miles from Oregon City. 
The consequences of this discovery may be easily ap- 
prehended. Oregon will secure a larger share of the 
emigration from the Atlantic States than she had 
before, and her progress will be rapid, for her soil and 
climate render the country an attractive place of re- 
sidence. But will the progress of California be less 
rapid in consequence of this? We think not. The 
united attractions of the two terrtories will ope: l a*te 
for the benefit of both, and only tend to increase the 
quantity of emigration. 



CHAPTER XV. 

A GENERAL VIEW OF CALIFORNIA AT THE PRESENT TIME. 

We have followed the narrative of the events in the 
history of California up to the present time. We 
have traced her progress from her first settlement up 
to the time when she appears as a sovereign republican 
State; and we have seen the effects of her vast 
metallic wealth working wonders in a short space of 
time. We have seen her towns before and after the 
gold discovery, and marked the contrast ; and we have 
seen her territory become thickly peopled, and her 
resources developed in a space of time which other 
territories less favored, would require for an infancy. 
We have also considered her soil, climate, productions, 
and population, and exhibited each subject as fully as 



256 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

our information warranted. But in order to give <a 
clear conception of the general character of Calif or « 
nia and her resources and capabilities, and to enable 
the reader to obtain an idea of the bright future to 
which she is destined, we have concluded to add 
another chapter upon the general state of things there 
at the present time. 

California is now a State — in organization at least, 
if not in being a member of the Union. The country 
has become thoroughly American in its government 
and laws. A Constitution is adopted as a State organi- 
zation, which bears the impress of enlightened senti- 
ment and just principles. The most liberal provisions 
have been made in that instrument for the grand end 
of public education. The power and capability of the 
people to rule themselves has been recognized in the 
matter of electing nearly all the officers of the govern- 
ment — including the judges of the various courts over 
which the State has control. The Legislature, in the 
course of a laborious session, has abolished the old civil 
law which ruled the country under the Mexican govern- 
ment, and continued after the acquisition of the terri- 
tory by the United States, and have substituted the com- 
mon law of England and many of the States in the 
Union. In taking this step, they were actuated by 
sound policy. Eew of those who were subjected to be 
tried, or to have their suits decided by the rules of 
this civil code were aware of the nature of these 
rules ; and from their crude and unintelligible charac- 
ter, it would have been a long time before they could 
have been fully ©r certainly informed* The old com- 
mon law is that to whose rules they have conformed 
in the older States, and which is better suited to their 
habits and principles of action, 



HISTORY OF CA LI FORNLn. 257 

But with her complete Statu organization, California 
has applied for admission into the Union, and from 
various causes, without reason, as we conceive, has not 
yet been admitted to her claim. This delay, continued 
though a long session of Congress, has somewhat 
irritated the Californians, who are anxiously watching 
the doings of Congress. The state of feeling on the 
subject is clearly stated in one of the California papers ; 
and it is worthy of attention. We extract it. 

"Shall California be Admitted? — We desire 
once more to state calmly and firmly the grievances 
under which the State of California labors, in order 
that Congress, in her hesitation, which may terminate 
in an open refusal to admit us as equal sharers in the 
benefits, as we are of the burdens of the general 
government, may not act in ignorance of the true state of 
feeling existing here upon a point so vital to our future. 

" California feels that she has been made the sport 
of gambling politicians long enough. This is the uni- 
versal sentiment of one hundred thousand citizens of 
this State, expecting daily reinforcements which will 
swell the number to an aggregate of two hundred and 
fifty thousand before the second session of the present 
Congress. She feels that such a mass of men, born 
under the flag of the Union, have a right to some of 
the privileges which they were taught to suppose 
it typified. She feels that she has no right to be 
taxed and not protected — to be taxed, and not 
represented, to be taxed, and nothing but taxed. 
Nothing else has been done for her. We hear of 
no Indian agent in the country. American citizens 
are slaughtered weekly if not daily by savages on 
our border. An agent of the Postoffice Depart- 
ment has been sent here, but his power to put into 



258 HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 

successful operation a thorough mail system, com- 
mensurate with the wants of the people, has been 
effectually crippled from the want of an appropriation 
to meet the necessary expenses. We are without 
admiralty courts ; yet the interests of the commerce 
of the Pacific are centring in the Bay of San Fran- 
cisco. We are paying millions into the treasury of the 
United States yearly. Our custom-house is thronged 
daily with captains and consignees of vessels, paying 
government dues, which eventually come from the 
pockets of the citizens of the whole State ; yet there 
is hardly a possibility that one dollar in a thousand 
will ever be expended for our benefit. 

" This state of things is unnatural — too much so for 
a quiet endurance, unless stern necessity is at the 
bottom. Were there any reason why we should be 
treated thus, we could patiently suffer on. But there 
is none. And now a sentiment is fast gaining ground 
here, that it is the intention of Congress — or a portion 
of Congress, to throw us back upon a territorial organi- 
zation. It may not be amiss to state that California, 
under no circumstances, will give up her State organi- 
zation. She has just escaped from the crudities and 
unintelligibilities of the Mexican code. Under it, she 
would still be laboring, had the action of Congress been 
awaited. Neither to this state of vassalage to institu- 
tions foreign to the habits and education of her citizens, 
nor to a second vassalage of territorial government under 
Congress, will she submit now. She knows her interests 
too well for this. If we are driven to take matters into 
our own keeping, the responsibility rests not upon us, 
neither should the odium, if any attaches. Should 
Congress ever come to its senses, and do what naked 
justice demanded months ago, California will ever be 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA 259 

ready and proud to form one of the States of the 
Union ; but it is asking too much that she should oner 
herself a willing sacrifice on the altar of demagogues. ' ; 

This is strongly and firmly said ; and we hope that 
it will exercise some influence on those to whose atten- 
tion it is directed. Nothing can be more unjust in 
politics than taxation without a due compensation of 
protection and of law. There is scarcely any pros- 
pect, however, that California will be required to go 
back to a territorial organization. Such a request 
would be absurd in the highest degree, and none but 
ultras recommend it. 

Whether California be admitted into the Union at 
the present session of Congress, or not, we may con- 
sider her Constitution and many of her laws necessary 
for carrying out the provisions of the Constitution, as 
fixed and operative. We have then, in a knowledge 
of their laws, a view of the character of society in 
California, in many particulars, but there are others 
which require further observation. One feature strikes 
the observer at first glance. It is the variety of nation 
which marks the population of the principal cities of 
California. There may be seen the rapid, yet prudent 
Yankee, with a sharp eye to the main chance, and a 
ready comprehension of the consequences of a bargain 
or a speculation; the cool, slow, and heavy-moving 
Englishman, wishing to be sure of his game, and, 
therefore, late in grasping for it ; the lively and sociable 
Frenchman, contrasting appearances and manners 
with things in Paris ; the coarse-looking German, with 
a lively conception of the wealth of the country, and 
a deep consideration of the means of grasping a goodly 
share of it ; the half-Spanish native of California, with 
his love of indolence, and easy of satisfaction ; the 



260 • HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA 

Chilian, with the ferocity and the cowardice of th3 
descendants of the Spaniards, and loving fandangoes 
and riding horses, as intensely as the Californians « 
the Chinese, with dirty, hut industrious habits, and 
the native Indians — a mean, degraded specimen of that 
noble race that once were lords of the American forests. 
At the present time, it is a matter of doubt, 
whether the Americans or the foreigners predominate 
in the population of California. It is certain that 
the former have things pretty much their own way in 
the various cities and in the mines. But that may be 
from a want of unity of action among the foreigners. 
The habits and modes of life belonging to the Ameri- 
cans are generally prevalent in the cities ; but in the 
smaller and older towns, the native Californians con- 
duct every thing in the old Spanish mode. The differ- 
ence between the society of Los Angeles and Sacra- 
mento City, is wide, and affords a good contrast be- 
tween the restless, enterprising, utilitarian spirit of 
the Americans, and the indolent, pleasure-loving spirit 
of the Californians. With the Americans, in the 
cities where they are in the majority, business is the 
uppermost consideration upon all occasions, and profit 
and loss, and chances of obtaining a competency, the 
constant subject of thought. With the Californians, 
the enjoyment of the present, which alone is theirs, 
is at all times a matter of prime importance; and 
gambling, drinking, dancing, guitar-playing, and riding 
on horseback, are the principal sources of their plea- 
sures. Which of these modes of passing away life 
is the most philosophical, we leave to the speculative. 
But it is apparent in California, that the energy of 
the American character is exercising a great influence 
on the descendants of the Spaniards. Their spirit is 



HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 2G1 

infections. In some of the towns upon the coast, one 
half of the buildings are occupied by persons who 
have emigrated from the Eastern States ; and the 
contrast between their log and brick houses, and the 
adobe houses of the Californians, is singular, and 
seems as if the old dead looking trunk of the tree 
had suddenly sent out new branches full of life and 
freshness. 

All the vices consequent upon a heterogeneous 
population, suddenly thrown together and stimulated 
to an extraordinary degree of activity, have fully ex- 
hibited themselves in California. Nearly every body 
in the mining regions carries deadly weapons of some 
sort, and with the promptings of avarice, and the ex- 
citement of passion, many shocking, secret murders, 
and many open, revengeful encounters are continually 
occurring. The practice of carrying deadly weapons 
can only be abolished when a stronger feeling of 
security, induced by a confidence in the protection of 
the laws, shall take the place of constant dread. The 
mining population is of as mixed a character as that 
in the commercial cities ; and national jealousies will 
occur occasionally. The elation consequent upon suc- 
cessful gold digging and speculating, leads to excess 
in drinking and gambling, and these lead to frequent 
quarrels and deadly encounters. The remedy for 
these things is only to be found in the reaction to 
which a few years will lead, when the power of the 
law shall be supreme throughout the gold region. 

The principal thing which has contributed in some 
degree to influence the prospect and the labors of the 
miners, is the government tax upon the foreigners 
who wish to work upon the public lands in digging 
and washing gold. The tax is certainly a just one, 



262 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

but many are of opinion that it is too high. A lighter 
tax would more readily receive the assent of the mass 
of foreigners ; but whether it is not just that they 
should pay a tax of eight dollars for every ounce of 
of gold they obtain from the land of others, is another 
question. The greater portion of the gold region 
belongs to the government, and was paid for by the 
government. The people of the United States should, 
therefore, have the sole right to occupy it ; and it is 
but just, that those people of foreign nations who wish 
to reap a profit from it either by digging gold or culti- 
vating the ground, should pay for the use of it. The 
effect of the tax is, that those who must pay it, either 
must give up mining or work harder to reap sufficient 
profit. In either case, the country is benefited. 

The mining region is constantly increasing in ex- 
tent. The placers first worked still yield a profit suffi- 
cient to reward the gold seeker for his labor, and the 
frequent discovery of new ones by parties prospect- 
ing, keeps up the heat of excitement. The region is 
constantly extending towards the north. The vicinity 
of Trinity River is the most northern part of Cali- 
fornia where gold is obtained in any considerable 
quantity, and the source of the San Joaquin, is the 
most southern. The entire region embraced between 
these two points is known to abound in the precious 
metal, and is traversed by the gold "prospecters." 
Of the gold obtained, a great quantity — a third, at 
least, remains in the country. Another is carried 
out of California by the foreigners, and the remainder 
is sent to the Atlantic States of the Union. This is 
but a rough estimate ; but it seems warranted by the 
facts of the number of foreigners in the country, and 
the necessary current money of the resider^. Cer- 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 203 

lain it is, that were we to judge of the quantity of 
gold obtained in California, by the amount received 
in the United States, we would fall far too short of 
the truth. 

The growth of the commerce of California neces- 
sarily carries with it the growth of all those cities 
and towns which have any commercial advantages, 
or which are connected with the various ports. Not 
only has San Francisco constantly in her harbor a 
tremendous fleet of merchant vessels from all parts of 
the world, pouring into her lap the commodities neces- 
sary to a new country and a rapid building city, and 
Sacramento, the commerce of the mines continually 
passing through it, but all the towns along the coast have 
felt the impulse, and have become the seat of a traffic 
of some sort. San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Pedro, 
and Monterey, are all commercial ports, which have 
become the resort of those traders who wish to 
escape the crowd of competitors to be met with at the 
more northern towns, and to have a pleasant place 
of residence besides. Los Angeles, twenty-five miles 
from the port of San Pedro is the centre of an ex- 
tensive inland trade, and from its being a delightful 
place of residence, will contribute to the building up 
of San Pedro in a greater degree than the commerce 
of San Pedro can influence it. 

At present, San Francisco is a city of about thirty 
thousand inhabitants, and in spite of the repeated 
visitations of the calamity of destructive fire, it has 
suffered no stoppage in its rapid progress. On the 
contrary, these fires seem to give a new impulse to the 
energy and enterprise of its inhabitants, and, by im- 
pressing upon them the utility of building their houses 
and stores of the more substantial brick, to have 



204 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

been of permanent benefit. Like the water of a 
rapid river, which, meeting with a serious obstacle in 
its course, is checked for the moment and then, having 
gathered new strength, surmounts the barrier and 
springs forward with renewed energy, San Francisco 
has pursued her course. The late fire, decidedly the 
most disastrous the new city has experienced, produced 
for awhile a general stand in business. But the go- 
aheadative principle was too strong for a continuance 
of a stagnation ; and all the sufferers -set about doing 
their utmost to retrieve their fortunes. Success must 
wait upon such persevering energy. 

Sacramento City is fast treading upon the heels of 
her commercial sister city. Improvements are con- 
stantly being made to the appearance of the city and 
the comfort of its inhabitants. A levea is in course 
of construction, which, it is thought, will effectually 
protect the city from being flooded during the season 
of the rise of the river. The overland emigration 
of which Sacramento is the goal, contributes to swell 
the population rapidly ; and, during the rainy season, 
the greater portion of the population of the northern 
mines flock into the city for refuge till the digging 
season commences. 

Stockton, Benicia, San Jose', and Sutter are each 
increasing the number of their residents and their 
trade very fast. The first is the depot of the south- 
ern mines ; the second, the military and naval station, 
chosen by the government officers ; the third is the 
capital of the State ; the last is a thriving town, near 
Sacramento, but in a better situation. 

One of the most interesting features of California 
is the number of the missions in various parts of the 
State. They are and will continue to be interesting, 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 265 

because of their age, and the self-denying and ener- 
getic labors with which they are connected. They 
were the centres, established by a few Catholic priests, 
from which the rays of enlightenment and civilized 
enjoyment were spread to the native Indians of Cali- 
fornia. Each mission was a little principality, with 
many leagues of land attached, with some thousand 
head of cattle, and all the neighboring Indians sub- 
ject to the control of the padre, and cultivating the 
land for their own and the padre's benefit. In 1800, 
these missions were sixteen in number, and three only 
have been added since that time. They are named 
and located as follows : — San Rafael and San Fran- 
cisco Solano, north of San Francisco Bay ; Dolores, 
near San Francisco ; Santa Clara and San Jose", 
near Pueblo San Jose* ; San Juan, Santa Cruz and 
Carmel, near Monterey ; Soledad, San Antonio, and 
San Miguel, in the valley of Salina River ; San Luis 
Obispo, La Purisima, Santa Ynez, Santa Barbara, and 
San Buenaventura, near Santa Barbara ; San Gabriel 
and San Fernando, near Los Angeles ; and San Luis 
Rey, San Juan Capistrano and San Diego, on the 
coast, south of Los Angeles. 

The wealth and power of these missions have fled, 
and they are all, more or less, in a state of decay. 
The Indians who were prospering under the care of 
the priests have either taken refuge in the mountains 
or linger about the old mission buildings, in a de- 
graded and ignorant state. The immense quantity 
of land which was once attached to them has been 
taken from them from time to time, and now they but 
seem the ruins of former greatness. The beauty of 
the country surrounding those of the missions which 
are still existing, and the picturesque appearance of 



266 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

those which are in ruins make them well worthy a 
visit to the lover of the antiquated. 

The usual attendant of the American enterprise, 
the printing press, has found its way to California, to 
contribute to the information and convenience of the 
people. Several papers are in extensive circulation 
in the cities and towns, and projects for others have 
been formed. The principal are the Alta Oalifornian, 
the Pacific News, the Courier, and the Placer Times. 
The three first are published in San Francisco, and 
the last at Sacramento. 

The want of facilities for transportation must be 
severely felt in the interior settlements of California. 
Steam vessels of the swiftest and most commodious 
character are the means of easy communication and 
transportation between San Francisco and the towns 
on Suisan Bay and the Sacramento, as far as Sacra- 
mento City. Communication by the same means will 
doubtless, soon be established between the different 
ports on the coast. But railroads and canals are 
requisites for increasing the social communication and 
drawing the people of all parts of the State more 
closely together. These, however, will not be long in 
demand, after the State has been admitted into the 
Union. The companies for such purposes will feel 
secure in their charter, and receive assistance from 
the government. There is nothing more efficacious 
in binding a people together and maintaining peace 
and harmony of action, than the mechanical facility of 
communication. The Atlantic States of the Union 
afford plentiful illustration and evidence of this asser- 
tion. Mark the differences of habit and sentiment in 
those States, where the means of intercourse betweea 
the inhabitants are comparatively few and far between. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 26T 

The interests of the different sections of a large State 
are of course, dissimilar, and produce the widest 
separation of feeling and opinion, which cannot be 
harmonized without the facilities of intercourse afford- 
ed by railroads and canals. In no State are there 
greater means of communication between the people 
of the different sections, than in Massachusetts ; and 
in no State is there a more harmonious action in the 
Legislative department of the government. Let the 
railroads and canals be so constructed in California 
as soon as possible, and the effect will be the same. 

We have elsewhere mentioned and characterized the 
different harbors of California. There has been one 
other surveyed and pronounced excellent, and the 
beginning of a town made upon its shores. This is 
called Humboldt, after the distinguished traveller. It 
is about one hundred and seventy-five miles north of 
San Francisco. The river formerly called Pigeon, but 
now Trinity, empties into it. The harbor is sheltered 
from the south-west winds, but is exposed to the north- 
west. The north-west winds prevail from November 
till March, and are severe ; but the south-west winds 
during the remainder of the year, are violent, and the 
harbor that is sheltered from them is considered a 
good one. 

The Indians who inhabit a large portion of Califor- 
nia, have been, and will be, the subject of considerable 
trouble to the white residents. It is a matter of the 
first importance for their safety, and that of the 
Indians themselves, that agents should be sent among 
them, with power to negotiate and settle all claims 
made by them and disputes arising between them and 
the whites, else, a destructive war will be the con- 
sequence They should be induced to relinquish their 



268 HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 

claims to the soil of California as far as the Sierra 
"tTevada, and receive due compensation therefor. But 
for the want of properly constituted agents from the 
government, they have been either driven from their 
old haunts by the mountaineers and other settlers, or 
remain amongst the whites to be a constant source of 
trouble. The Shosonees, or Snakes, are the most 
numerous tribe to be found within the limits of the 
State, but there are others which are more warlike and 
untameable. They have all suffered considerably from 
the aggressions of the white emigrants, and their 
attacks upon individuals and parties are but the 
promptings of revenge, which should be taken into 
consideration. Lately, a war of extermination against 
the whole number of certain tribes was commenced on 
account of the doings of one or two of them. Few of 
them are provided with better weapons than bows and 
arrows, and, of course, they can make but a poor 
resistance to the rifles of the white men. In illustra- 
tion of the treatment of the Indians, we quote an 
account of the doings of a war party against them, 
described in the work of a California tourist : — 

" A few days before our arrival in the mines, five 
men from Oregon, named Robinson, Thompson, 
English, Johnson, and Wood, were murdered by Indians 
while engaged in gold digging. Having but one rifle, 
they imprudently left it in their tent. This the Indians 
some thirty or forty in number, first secured, and then 
commenced their attack with bows and arrows. The 
Oregonians defended themselves some time, repeatedly 
driving the Indians with no other weapons than the 
stones they found on the bar where they were at work, 
but upon reaching the edge of the bar, they were each 
time obliged again to retreat. At length three of 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 269 

them, stuck full of arrows, were exhausted with loss of 
blood and overcome; while the other two attempted •- 
to escape by crossing the fork, one succeeding in 
reaching the other side, but both finally meeting the 
fate of the others. One of the warriors of the tribe 
who participated in these murders was afterwards taken 
prisoner, and furnishing the above narration, his life 
was spared on condition that he should guide the 
whites to their rancheria. 

"Accordingly, on the 16th of April, a war party 
was made up of about twenty young mountaineers, 
mostly Oregon men, and including also the young 
Greenwoods. Well mounted, and equipped with the 
enormous gingling California spurs, they rode up to 
Old Greenwood's for a review from the old man pre- 
paratory to starting. Each man carried besides his 
inseparable rifle, a long Spanish knife usually mounted 
with silver, and stuck in the folds of his deerskin lesr- 
gings ; and many were also provided with a brace of 
pistols or bowie knife, worn in the red Mexican sash 
around the waist. Old Greenwood shouted ' Mind the 
scalps and squaws for me, and be sure you bring 'em 
all in, boys,' and away they went, at a thundering 
lope, eager for revenge." 

The day afterwards, the party returned. They 
were preceded by a party of Peruvians and Chilians, 
with a number of their peones, or slaves. 

" Following closely this motley group, came on foot 
a body of about sixty California Indians. Warriors 
and boys, squaws w r ith papooses tied on boards and 
slung at the back, all were prisoners. Clustered to- 
gether like sheep driven to the slaughter, they hastened 
through the gorge with uncertain steps, the perspira- 
tion rolling off their faces now pale with fright. Many 



270 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

of them were quite naked, and the men and boy a 
especially, looked more like ourang-outangs than 
human beings. 

" In flank and rear rode the war party, which had 
left the Culloma Valley two days previous. Every 
man's rifle lay across the pommel of his saddle, and 
dangling at both sides hung several reeking scalps. 
Among them was a dashing young mountaineer named 
John Ross, who had two scalps for his share, and 
sticking in his sash was the red-sheathed bowie knife, 
which the writer had sold him a few days previous for 
an ounce of gold dust. Used previously to sever the 
rinds of pork, or shovel in rice and frijoles, it had now 
been ' wool gathering' or collecting wigs for old Green- 
wood's fancy stores. 

" * Well done, boys," shouted Grover, 'you have 
given it to them this time ; now, what's the news V 
In reply to this inquiry, we learned that the captured 
Indian had led them the night before according to 
promise, to their rancheria, on Weber's Creek, where 
some of them showing fight and others attempting 
escape, they were fired upon and some twenty to thirty 
were killed. Their chief fought until shot the third 
time, rising each time to his knees and discharging 
his arrows, Ross finally killing, cutting off his head 
and scalping him. Their rancher ia was then searched 
and burned ; the Indians delivering up the papers of 
the Oregon men, obtained at the time of their murder, 
and confessing that they had afterwards burned their 
bodies to ashes on the mountains. 

" The subsequent facts were related to the writer 
by his highly esteemed friend, Mr. Donald Grant, a 
native of bonnie Scotland, who was one of our party 
to the mines, and an eye witness to the scene ; not 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 271 

having left on his return to San Francisco till the 
following day. 

" Arriving in the Culloma valley with their prison- 
ers, the mountaineers and miners had a grand revel 
and jollification to celebrate their achievement. During 
the day most of the prisoners were released, but a few 
squaws and seven warriors were retained. The latter 
w T ere questioned and examined relative to their parti- 
cipation in the murder of the Oregonians. Nothing 
being elicited to prove their guilt, it was nevertheless 
determined that they should die ; because being bad 
looking and strong warriors, it was believed they were 
participators in the murders. Accordingly the con- 
sumption of champaigne and brandy continued till 
sunset. At that hour the seven Indians were brought 
forth, and knowing w r ell their fate, one of them put up 
his hand as a signal, and all leaped along the valley 
in rapid flight. Quick as thought the rifles began to 
crack in every direction, while old Greenwood raving 
around his cabin remonstrated at the deed, tossed his 
arms aloft with violent denunciation ; and stooping 
down gathered the dust in his palms, and sprinkled it 
on his head, swearing he was innocent of their blood. 
Meantime, John Greenwood stood beside the old man 
in stoic silence, too brave to participate in the massacre, 
but too much of a crow to utter his disapproval. But 
frantic with excitement the others thought only of 
revenge, and the balls whistling in every direction laid 
five of the warriors dead in the valley and mortally 
wounding another, only one escaping unscathed. The 
dying rays of the sun deserting the bloody scene, yet 
lingered on the mountain top, and the smoke of the 
discharge rolled in thick volume, like a pall over the 
corpses of the slain, while that solitary warrior turned 



272 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

from his distant height, to gaze after his companic ns, 
a moment in vain. But his heart quivered with ven- 
geance, and the thin white locks of the old man in the 
valley, still mingled with the gray twilight, like the 
sackcloth and ashes of despair. 

" And this is what they call fighting the Indians ! 
A few days before only, we saw a young mountaineer 
wild with rage, threaten the life of an American who 
had ventured to suggest, that the murders committed 
by these Indians were provoked by many previous 
murders by the whites, and that they should be avenged 
by the death of the guilty among the Indians, and not 
by an indiscriminate slaughter." 

We cannot think highly of the civilization of the 
white men who take such unmerciful and indiscriminate 
revenge as this. Such are not the means to gain the 
Indians over to a peace. Revenge only breeds revenge ; 
and those who commit such slaughter in retaliation 
for the murder of one or two men must look to the 
consequences. 

The great body of the travel to California is at 
present by way of the Isthmus of Panama ; but those 
who intend to settle permanently in the State, and 
who will increase the real population of it, take the 
overland route from Independence, Missouri. The 
shortest and best route for commercial purposes will 
soon be opened across Nicaragua. This will have 
many advantages over the old Isthmus route, but will 
not cause that one to be abandoned altogether. Chagres 
has become somewhat Americanized, and so have 
Gorgona, Cruces, and Panama. Travel has been some- 
what facilitated by the addition of American boats on 
the Chagres River, and the provision of the mountain 
mules for the rough road to Panama, in sufficient 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 273 

number to lower the price of travel and decrease the 
delay. 

The facilities of intercourse between California and 
the States east of the Rocky Mountains will tend to 
cement her to the Union by all the tics of trade and 
mutual interest. The people of that State, being at 
so great a distance from the rest of the States, would 
seem to be alien to them in interest, and, therefore, 
that an independent government would contribute 
most to their prosperity. But mechanical influences 
— the telegraph — the railroad and the steam vessel — 
annihilate distance, and will be the means of attaching 
the Californians to the confederacy. In her union 
with the other States, there is her strength. She will 
add much to their wealth and power, but her free 
institutions — entirely American, require the support 
of the confederacy which produced them — at least, 
until the State has reached her maturity. 

What will be the future California is a question 
which admits of a ready answer. If she retains her 
present boundaries, with her extensive sea coast, and 
her progress bears any proportion to that since the 
conquest, in fifty years — it is a warranted conclusion — 
the State will surpass any of those upon the Atlantic 
coast. For, what State has such united commercial 
facilities and vast resources ? Where are such in- 
ternal wealth and such splendid harbors to be found 
united ? It is probable, however, that the State may 
be divided, after the population has reached a suffi- 
cient number. It is the opinion of some of the mem- 
bers of the present Congress, that there is too much 
sea coast for one State to possess, and that has been 
made an objection to her admission into the Union, with 
Ler present boundaries. But it is of little weight at 



274 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

this time. After the State has existed a few years, 
the utility of such a division as is proposed will be 
manifest or disproved. In the mean time, let Cali- 
fornia he admitted into the Union as her people have 
created her, and then she will have every thing neces- 
sary for her to go on in the fulfilment of a gloriou3 
destiny. 

The gold discoveries in New Mexico and Oregon 
will have but a slight influence on California affairs. 
Yet for that slight influence, they deserve to be men- 
tioned. The recent discoveries in New Mexico, would 
seem to indicate that the El Dorado of the early 
Spanish voyagers has been found, and nearly in the 
place to which their attention was directed by the 
Indians. A late number of the Houston Telegraph, 
says: 

" That preparations are in progress in all parts of 
the State, for a grand expedition to the gold region 
that has been discovered in New Mexico, not far from 
the ruins of the celebrated city of Grand Quivira. 
Gold mines have been found all along the great chain 
of mountains extending from the sources of the Ar- 
kansas and Platte Rivers, by Santa Fe, to the Puerto. 
Immense excavations are shown along the feet of these 
mountains, and the ruins of vast cities indicate that 
these mines were once worked by millions of people. 
The geographical formations of this region are so 
similar to those of the gold regions of California, that 
they appear to be identical, and contain similar do- 
posits of the precious metals. These facts have 
been made known throughout Texas, and the Tele- 
graph would not be surprised to find that the emi- 
gration to the gold region of Texas, in the ensuing 
autumn, should exceed the emigration to California. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 275 

The " consummation devoutly to be wished*" has 
been attained. California has at length been admitted 
to take her place as a star of the confederated repub- 
lic. The bill for that object passed the House of 
Representatives on the 7th of September, 1850, by a 
vote of yeas, one hundred and fifty, nays fifty-six. It 
had previously passed the Senate by a no less decisive 
majority. The announcement of the passage of the 
bill was received with the greatest enthusiasm by its 
friends, and considerable excitement upon the part 
of its opponents. The most constant exertions were 
made by members from the Southern States to defeat 
the bill by adjournment and by numerous amendments, 
but they were unavailing. California triumphed. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



EVENTS IN CALIFORNIA FROM THE ADMISSION OF THE 
STATE INTO THE UNION TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF 

1853. 

Since the foregoing chapters were written, events 
of considerable importance have transpired in Cali- 
fornia. Remarkable political steps have been taken, 
and disastrous accidents by flood and fire have hap- 
pened. 

The crimes of robbery and murder becoming of 
so frequent occurrence in San Francisco that all 
security of person and property was threatened with 
destruction, a meeting of citizens was called, and it 
was resolved to organize a Vigilance Committee, fox 



276 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

the summary trial and execution of offenders. This 
was an open manifestation of contempt for the consti- 
tuted authorities, and they protested against it. But 
a majority of the citizens of San Francisco, feeling 
that extraordinary measures were necessary, sup- 
ported those persons who were appointed upon the 
Committee. Such officers generally abuse the exten- 
sive authority conferred upon them ; but justice 
requires that we should say, that the members of the 
San Francisco Vigilance Committee acted throughout 
with a due appreciation of an awful responsibility. 
Several persons were arrested, tried, convicted and 
hung. One or two were notorious criminals, who had 
often been up before the regular courts, and always 
contrived to elude justice. By the certain and sum- 
mary measures of the Committee, security was in a 
great measure restored, and the members then sur- 
rendered their authority— acknowledging the entire 
supremacy of the courts. 

In October, 1851, the State elections occurred. 
The contest was spirited. The Democrats were gene- 
rally successful. John Bigler, their gubernatorial 
candidate, was elected by about thirteen hundred 
majority over Mr. Beading, the candidate of the 
Whigs. At the succeeding session of the Legislature, 
John B. Weller, formerly of Ohio, was elected to the 
Senate of the United States, to succeed John C. Fre- 
mont, who had resigned his seat. Mr. Weller had 
long been a prominent member of the Democratic 
party. He commanded the Ohio regiment in the 
Mexican war. It was believed that he would be an 
efficient colleague of the industrious and practical 
Senator Gwin. 

The Chinese portion of the population of California 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 277 

has gradually become quite numerous. They have 
proved themselves steady, energetic and useful citi- 
zens. Gov. Bigler, however, had a different estima- 
tion of them. As they do not respect the oaths and 
forms established by law for the regulation of busi- 
ness in California, he thought they could not be 
bound sufficiently in their bargains to suit the busi- 
ness community ; and accordingly he recommended 
to the Legislature, that some measures should be 
adopted for checking Chinese immigration. This 
called forth a spirited remonstrance from the Chinese 
citizens of San Francisco. They argued with much 
reason, that they had conducted themselves properly 
ever since they had entered California, and that there 
was no real ground of complaint against them. The 
methods of binding them were explained, it is believed, 
to the general satisfaction of the business community. 
We should think that Chinese labor would be in great 
demand in California, as the " Celestials" not only 
work for less than the Americans, but can endure 
more toil and exposure. 

In October, 1852, events occurred in the Mexican 
State of Sonora, which the Californians could not but 
regard with much interest. Count de Raousset-Boul- 
bon, a French adventurer, was the prime actor, in a 
brief but stirring drama, in that quarter. He had 
come to California in search of fortune. Being 
unsuccessful, he went to Mexico. 

At the period of his arrival there the Province 
of Sonora was devastated by the Alpaca Indians, who 
committed all sorts of depredations with impunity. 
Count de Raousset-Boulbon presented himself to the 
Mexican Government, and offered to deliver Sonora 
from the red-skins with which it was infested. The 



<278 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

Mexican Government was ready to fall upon the neck 
of M. de Raousset-Boulbon. "lama Frenchman. 
I know the country. I understand war. I will an- 
swer for every thing," said the Count. " Good," said 
the governmeni, " we will place an army of ten thou- 
sand men at your disposal." " Thank you," said 
M.de Raousset-Boulbon, "keep. your army; it would 
only get in my way. Give me some muskets, and 
two hundred thousand francs, and leave the rest to 
me." He received the required sum, returned to 
Sonora, organized a corps of Frenchmen, resolute 
men like himself, and proceeded to hunt down the 
Indians. The merchants of the country, delighted 
with the successes obtained by their defender against 
a set of rascals who had so long been masters of their 
provinces, sent subsidies to M. de Raousset-Boulbon, 
put themselves under his protection, and assured him 
that neither he nor his troops should ever want for any 
thing if he would only continue the war. The. Count 
closed with the offer. But the popularity of the 
young general, and the success of his little army, 
alarmed the Mexican Government. 

They issued an order requiring him to quit the 
country with his forces. Count de Raousset-Boulbon 
replied, that the merchants and land-owners of the 
country having placed Sonora under his immediate 
protection, he felt it due to his honor not to abandon 
them, and consequently he distinctly refused to obey 
the order. The Mexican Government then sent a 
frigate to blockade the principal port of Sonora. 
Count de Raousset-Boulbon took the frigate. The 
government sent Gen. Blanco, at the head of an 
army, against the French commander. A battle was 
fought, and after a short but fierce struggle, superior 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 279 

numbers triumphed, and the French were defeated. 
A treaty was then negotiated, by the terms of which, 
Count Boulbon agreed to quit Sonora, in considera- 
tion of receiving a large sum of money. 

It is the prevailing opinion that this movement 
originated in a mere restless spirit of adventure. 
But there are some sagacious statesmen at Washing- 
ton and some keen-eyed politicians in California, who 
regard it as having had the object of organizing a 
powerful French state, which might check the pro- 
gress of the great North American confederacy. 
Senator Bell, of Tennessee, predicted that such a 
design would be entertained, and such a movement 
executed by the French. It is well that the people of 
California should be upon their guard. A republic 
can have no safe neighbors but republics. There are 
a large number of Frenchmen in California ; but if 
the Americans are vigilant there is nothing to be 
feared from them. 

On the 2d of November, 1852, the presidential 
election was held throughout the United States. 
The Democrats carried California for their electoral 
ticket, pledged to vote for Franklin Pierce, of New 
Hampshire, and William R. King, of Alabama. The 
state election occurred at the same time, and in this, 
also, the Democrats were completely successful. 

About the same time, destructive fires occurred in 
various parts of California. The greater part of the 
city of Sacramento was laid in ashes by a conflagra- 
tion, which occurred on the 2d of November. Of this 
terrible disaster, the San Francisco Herald of the 
4th of November, gives the following account : — 

At 11J o'clock on Tuesday evening, a fire broke 
out in the millinery shop of Madam Lanos, on 



280 HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 

J street, near the corner of Fourth. The inspectors 
were counting the votes, and a numerous crowd were 
awaiting the decision of the judges, so that no time 
was lost in delay. With astonishing rapidity the fire 
spread from building to building — up, down and 
across the street, in five minutes. The Crescent 
City Hotel, on the opposite side of the street, was in 
flames, and being of inflammable materials and of 
large size, sent the fiery torrent in every direction. 
The hardware store of Pawoth, Eels & Co. com- 
municated the flames to the brick block adjoining, 
which was speedily burned to the ground, and carried 
the fire up street on both sides, until it reached Eighth 
street, and on the south side of J street. On the 
corner side, from Brown, Kenny & Co.'s brick block, 
which caught from the Crescent City fire, there was 
nothing to stay its progress but the Overton Block, 
on the corner of Third and J streets, on the one side, 
and Scudder, Carroll & Co. on the other. For a 
time the superhuman exertions put forth seemed to 
check, and it was hoped would entirely subdue the 
fire, and the boom of the powder, like artillery, that 
was deposited in every building, by the hook and 
ladder boys, was deemed the signal for the arrest and 
staying of the fire on this line. In vain, however; 
the wind, heretofore blowing towards the levee, in- 
creased to a gale and changed to the north, thus 
turning the fire broadside on, and in five minutes it 
had spread to M. street. 

From J and Third, the fire curled around Scud- 
der & Carroll's, and extended to Dr. Morrell's drug 
store, on the south side of J street, which proved a 
barrier for a time. These buildings, of wood, were 
built in 1849, and as combustible as powder. The 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 281 

flames caught the wooden building opposite, and 
spread to the rear on I street. At this time, W. R. 
McCall & Co.'s building caught on the roof. The 
burning of their building sealed the fate of all to the 
levee, on both sides of the street, and bearing down 
the length of the city, the flames extended, soon 
wrapping the Orleans Hotel. The buildings all around 
were blown up with the rapidity of magic, carts stand- 
ing ready with 251b. kegs of powder. The Union 
office next fell, the proprietors saving two presses, 
type and paper sufficient for a few days' supply. 
The Tahama block, containing Page, Bacon & Co.'s, 
Swift's and Grimes' banking offices, saved, wind 
changing, blowing directly south from them. J. B. 
Starr's store also made a wall to prevent the further 
spread of the fire in that direction. At this moment 
the fire reached, from the levee, J and K street to 
Tenth, one sea of fire, crumbling every thing to ashes. 
The large brick store of J. A. Haines, the brick blocks 
on K — with the exception of that of the Lady Adams 
Co. on K, between First and K streets — are a pile of 
ruins. The L. A. Co.'s buildings stand prominent and 
erect this morning, a monument to the proprietor's 
sagacity and good sense. The families on the line 
below K street, were busy removing their valuables 
and furniture, when the flames crossed the brick bar- 
rier, and swept with remorseless fury down and across, 
licking with its forked tongue from street to alley, 
apparently shrivelling the wooden buildings with a 
single breath. The inmates of the hospital, seventy 
in number, were taken in season to the levee, and 
from thence to a suitable house, by Drs. Briarly and 
Williams. The City market, filled with hay, and the 
hospital, were the last on that line of the fire, where 
24* 



282 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA, 

the citizens effectually stopped its further progress, 
On F street the brick building of Reynolds & Co, 
made but a light barrier 7 the roof falling in almost 
immediately, with three of No. 3's engine men, wh© 
were burned to death. Every thing to Eighth street, 
on the north, and Ninth Street on the south side of 
J street to Twelfth street, on K down to N street on 
the southeast, through N and M to the levee — the 
El Dorado, supposed impregnable hitherto, as also 
Merritt's, Dr. Morrill's, Scudders', and Case & Co.'s 
are completely gutted. 

Thus far the number of lives ascertained to be lost 
are six. Three of No. 3's Engine Company's men, 
who fell with the roof of Reynolds & Co.'s building, 
were swallowed up alive ; the confusion of the morn- 
ing, and the scattering of people, prevented a roll call 
to ascertain the names of the gallant but unfortunate 
firemen. A lady, next door to the place where the 
fire originated, is also reported burnt. The number 
scorched is enormous, all of whom, however, are care- 
fully attended to by surgeons on board the Camanche. 
Every assistance possible was proffered by the captains 
and agents of the steamers, whose vessels were soon 
crowded with females. The levee was strewn with 
merchandise of every description, and the wind blow- 
ing from the northwest threw the sparks from the 
goods and saved them all. At 5 A. M., the fire had 
nearly ceased, the smouldering embers throwing huge 
clouds of smoke and lurid flashes, bringing desolation 
to the hearts of all who witnessed the sickening sight. 
The losses cannot be less than $5,000,000. 

On the evening of the 9th of November, another 
great fire occurred at San Francisco. Of this the Cali- 
fornia Whig of Nov. 10, gives the following account:— 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 283 

Last evening, at half past eight o'clock, our citizens', 
were alarmed by the dreadful cry of fire, which proved 
to be too well founded, for in less than five minutes 
the whole city was illumed by the lurid glare of the 
flames. 

There is much contradiction as to where the fire 
originated, but it is pretty generally conceded that 
it was in the upper story of the frame building on 
the corner of Merchant and Kearny streets, occupied 
by some lodgers. 

In a very short time all the buildings on the corner 
of the street were in a blaze, and wholly beyond the 
power of human aid to save. The close proximity of 
the building to the Union, on the opposite corner, 
rendered the probability of its destruction almost 
certain. In a very few minutes the latter building 
caught. In the meantime the frame buildings on 
Merchant, and between that and Clay streets caught, 
and were in a blaze. 

The whole force of the fire department were 
promptly on the spot, with their apparatus, and put 
into the most effective service. Never since they 
have been in organization have they displayed their 
unequalled energy and training as they did on this 
occasion. 

Fortunately for the safety of the lower part of the 
city, there was but little air stirring, and a slight 
misty rain had fallen during the day and evening, 
which checked the tendency of the fire to spread 
towards the bay. Had it not been for this, the mass 
of sparks falling upon the roofs of the frame buildings 
on the east side of Montgomery street, must have 
extended it to the whole lower side of the city. 
These buildings were covered with men provided with 



284 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

wet blankets, buckets of water, and every thing 
necessary to extinguish the flames, should they com- 
municate to their roofs. 

The fire burnt eastward to the buidings of Messrs. 
Austin & Lobdell, fronting on Clay street, and that 
of Mr. Naglee, fronting on Merchant street. On 
the north side of Merchant it took the Union Hotel, 
and all the buildings fronting on that street, down 
towards Montgomery, to Bolton and Barron's build- 
ing. It did not cross over to Washington in any 
instance. This is the second time that the building 
of Messrs. Austin & Lobdell has proved an effectual 
barrier to the progress of a fire, and without receiving 
the least injury itself, or damaging the goods within it. 

Nothing but the determined and unparalleled efforts 
of the firemen prevented the fire from extending to 
the south side of Clay street ; as it was, some $10,000 
damage was done to goods and buildings upon that 
side. 

The fire broke out, as we have said, at half past 
eight o'clock, and it was not until a quarter past ten 
that it was cheeked or its further spread prevented, 
and the engines worked for some time longer. 

The records of the different courts in the old City 
Hall were removed, but thrown into the utmost 
confusion. 

In the midst of the excitement, Mr. Masalski, a 
gentleman well known to the community as the former 
keeper of the Sacramento House, rushed to the scene 
of disaster, and shortly afterwards returned to his 
dwelling. He was immediately seized with the most 
alarming symptoms, and in a few moments breathed 
his last. Dr, Guatier, who attended him in his last 
moments, says that it is difficult to pronounce upon 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 285 

the cause of his death, other than that it was brought 
about by congestion of the brain, but what was the 
immediate cause of this congestion he is unable to say 
at present. 

It is of course impossible for us to give a correct 
estimate of the losses sustained, but we have heard it 
variously estimated as from $150,000 to $200,000. 

Other destructive fires occurred at Marysville, 
Sonora, Stockton, San Diego and in the agricultural 
districts, an immense amount of property being 
destroyed. In the cities, the damage was repaired, 
with an astonishing rapidity, but some individuals 
were utterly ruined — the results of years of labor 
being swept away in a single night. The cities of 
California are now generally supplied with fire en- 
gines and hook and ladder companies. But these 
machines are not always available. 

The mining news contained in California papers 
of November, 1852, is very interesting, 

A letter dated Nevada, Oct. 24, says that the con- 
tinued dry weather has given unusual opportunities 
and facilities to miners now working in the river 
channels. At the best these operations are very pre- 
carious in their nature — neeessarily attended with a 
vast outlay, and frequently, where the most sanguine 
hopes were entertained, the results have been most 
unfortunate. The time for working in the rivers is 
usually confined to a very limited period, the water 
being seldom or never sufficiently low to work to 
advantage earlier than September ; it follows, there- 
fore, that every additional week of dry weather is 
of the utmost value to such as are thus engaged. 
Luckily for them, the present dry season has been 
unusually protracted, consequent upon which, the 



286 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

rivers are at an exceedingly low stage, and the success 
of the miner proportionate to this advantage. On the 
other hand, those interested in ravine and hill mining 
(by far the greater proportion of the miners,) are 
anxiously awaiting the wet season for a supply of 
water — without which, all their labor is fruitless. 

The Bear River and Auburn Water Company's 
canal is so far completed as to be available to the 
miners by the first rains, notwithstanding the great 
expense and time attending its construction, arising 
from a want of experience, and so far beyond the 
calculations of its projectors. This work traverses an 
extensive and rich mining country, totally dependent 
upon the canal for water, which cannot be exhausted 
for many years. 

The discovery of a continuation of the celebrated 
Coyote lead, in Nevada, from which so many millions 
of the precious metals were extracted in '50 and '51, 
is now established beyond a doubt. As yet it is not 
developed to any great extent, but enough, however, 
to give employment to a goodly number of miners. 
The character of the lead continues to be similar to 
the old mines, in appearance and productiveness. 
A few weeks' further investigation of the locality will 
no doubt give a new impetus to mining operations 
here, which have latterly been somewhat stagnant. 

The Sacramento Journal says : — We have been 
shown a lot of the gold taken out of the Mokelumne 
run, valued at $2,500, which was superior to any 
thing we ever examined before. The pieces of glitter- 
ing ore were of sizes varying from a cucumber seed 
up to a pumpkin seed, and all in that flat, oval shape 
so peculiarly characteristic of Mokelumne gold. It 
was sent down from the store of D. L. Angier, in 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 287 

Calaveras county, and we are informed that the same 
company of six men that disposed of it, have taken out 
of the claim $36,000 of the same kind of specimens. 

Gold has heen found in considerable quantities in 
the mountains back of San Buenaventura. The 
existence of the gold was made known by the Indians 
*;o some white men, who, on visiting the spot indicated, 
were rewarded with six ounces of the precious metal. 
The prospect is said to be good. 

Three quartz mills have recently commenced ope- 
rations in Scott valley. We have not received any 
definite information as to what these mills have ac- 
complished, but are informed that one of them is pro- 
ducing gold in great abundance. 

The Columbia Mining Company took out 12 lbs. 
of gold in one day, and 8 lbs. at night — making in all 
20 lbs. The same gentleman informs us that miners 
generally in that vicinity are doing remarkably well. 

New diggings have been discovered near the Ame- 
rican ranche. Those working there are getting well 
paid, in coarse, heavy gold. They are making from 
$12 to §20 per day to the man. The diggings are 
ravine diggings, and can be worked all winter. 

A convention of the quartz miners of Nevada 
county was to have been held at Nevada on the 
13th of November, to adopt measures having for their 
purpose more unity of operation and greater security 
of labor and capital. 

The San Francisco papers of Jan. 1, 1853, contain 
most interesting intelligence of the state of the gold 
region. The following is the most important : — 

The present winter is conceded to be the most 
severe experienced in this country since it has been 
populated by Americans. During the last fortnight 



288 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

it has been raining and snowing continually in the 
mountains and valleys, and we are daily in the 
receipt of accounts of disasters and suffering in all 
parts of the state. The waters have been unusually 
high, and communication through the mining regions 
almost entirely cut off, either by snow or overflowed 
streams. The rivers have been swelled to such an 
extent as to inundate all the low lands, causing 
immense damage, destroying stock and agricultural 
products. 

The whole country between Tehama and Sacra- 
mento city was entirely under water, whilst Marys- 
ville was partly inundated, and though Sacramento 
city was well protected by a levee, the lower portions 
were submerged. The waters at the present time 
have subsided, although the rains still continue. On 
the mountain streams, the loss of mining implements 
has been great, and all work for the present is sus- 
pended. Bridges have been swept away, and ferries 
destroyed, and some few lives lost. The southern 
portion of the mining district has suffered equally 
with the northern. Stockton has been inundated 
partially, and property to a considerable amount 
destroyed. The bridges on the Calaveras, Stanislaus, 
and other streams have been swept away, and com- 
munication with the mining towns for a while sus- 
pended. The flood has been universal, and the waters 
higher than in the memorable winter of 1849. 

The great scarcity of provisions, and the conse- 
quent high prices, have occasioned much suffering 
and distress already, and it is feared that many will 
actually die from starvation. Many miners subsist 
entirely on beef and potatoes, whilst in other portions 
of the mines there are hundreds who have nothing at 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 289 

all but barley and potatoes. In portions of Yuba 
and Sierra county the snow was already ten feet deep, 
and still falling, and the miners actually reduced to 
absolute want. 

In one place they held a meeting and forced a 
trader to sell what flour he had on hand at 45 cents 
per pound, and all who were able to leave did so, 
thus leaving the provisions for those who were unable 
to find their way through the snows to the valleys. 
In some places cabins are entirely covered with snow, 
and the roofs of many have been crushed in, thus 
cutting off the last chance of protection. The accounts 
received may be greatly exaggerated — nevertheless, 
there is much suffering and distress, and it is not 
improbable that some may perish by starvation. 

A few days since, we were visited with a terrible 
southeast gale, which prevailed for two days. Several 
light tenements were blown down, and some injury 
done to the shipping in the harbor. For a day or 
two, communication by stage with San Jose was cut 
off, owing to the sudden rise of the intermediate 
streams. 

Several important decisions have been rendered in 
our courts, among which is the decision of the State 
Supreme Court, recognizing the right of native claim- 
ants of land to the summary remedy of ejectment 
where they are disturbed by squatters. This applies 
to parties who are in possession of their claims, and 
relieves them from what, by a previous decision of the 
court, was a necessity, that they should incur first the 
expensive process of a writ of right in order to prove 
their title. 

The Land Commission are making considerable 
progress in the adjudication of claims. Of these, the 
25 



290 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

most important, perhaps, is that of Mr. Fremont, to 
a large tract of land on the head waters of the Mari- 
posa river. The Commission recognizes his claim to 
the land, but does not undertake to decide upon his 
title to the mineral wealth, which, as is well known, 
is embraced within the limits of the grant. 

A convention of Quartz Miners, held at Nevada, 
have adopted a code of laws for the government of 
those working quartz veins in that country. 

Barley has been used for bread in some places in 
the interior, and is found to be a good substitute for 
flour. 

Farmers are getting their lands ready for the crops 
of the next year, and it is understood that considera- 
ble quantities of wheat will be sown. Preparations 
are also being made for the erection of grist mills, 
and it is not likely another season will find us so 
dependant upon foreign supply for breads tuffs. 

There was considerable excitement in California, 
during the latter part of December, about a supposed 
monopoly of flour. The article had been very scarce 
and high for some time, and the exorbitant rates it 
commanded were attributed in a great measure to an 
organized effort to force up prices. Indignation meet- 
ings were held in the interior, and in San Francisco 
several of the public prints endeavored to expose the 
supposed plots of the speculators. The timely arrival 
of cargoes from Chili and elsewhere, however, soon 
caused a decline, and the excitement on the subject 
consequently abated. 

Yallejo has been made the capital of the state. It 
possesses many advantages of situation, and promises 
to be a large city. If the government should continue 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 291 

to have its seat there, Vallejo may prove a formidable 
rival to San Francisco. 

At Sacramento city much alarm prevailed, in con- 
sequence of the rise of the water in the river and its 
tributaries. The papers say : — 

The warm and unprecedented heavy rains of the 
last forty-eight hours have brought down upon us an 
avalanche of water from the snowy regions skirting 
the forks of the American River, and swollen the 
latter stream to a greater height than at any former 
period of the present season. 

At 9 o'clock, yesterday morning, the water was 
even with its natural banks, and soon after com- 
menced percolating through the unfinished embank- 
ments at the gaps of the old levee. These were 
speedily torn away by the force of the current, and 
the water, now running on unobstructed through the 
breach of the new levee, and so on down towards the 
city. 

By dusk last evening, that portion of the town 
lying south of J and east of Fifth street, was entirely 
submerged, to the depth of from one to three feet. 
During the whole of yesterday the rain poured down 
in torrents, and the weather was warmer than we 
have known it for a month past. The American 
river continued to rise, up to a very late hour, and, 
at last accounts, was eleven and a half feet higher 
than on Wednesday. 

It is useless to deny the fact that the highest mark 
has not yet been reached, for there is a great body 
of snow that, under the influence of the present 
storm, must dissolve, and find its way to the Sacra- 
merto. The latter stream also rose steadily during 



292 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

Thursday, but still lacks some two feet of being up to 
the top of the levee. 

There is no danger whatever of the embankment 
yielding at any point in front of the city — the only 
danger to be apprehended is that it may not prove 
sufficiently high to retain the stream within its appro- 
priate bounds. 

A small breach was discovered early yesterday 
morning in the new levee, near Dudley's farm, but it 
was repaired before any damage was done. 

There was a rumor prevailing last evening that 
Lisle's bridge had been swept away, but could be 
traced to no reliable source. 

Every body is busily engaged in making prepara- 
tions to meet the anticipated flood. Merchants and 
shopkeepers, and all having property on the ground 
floor, are raising them above high water mark — boats 
are moored at the doors — vehicles of every descrip- 
tion, stock, grain, tents, hay, provisions and people, 
are crowded together on the public square, and every 
available dry nook and corner is occupied. 

The Marysville Express of the 20th, says : " The 
water is within three or four inches as high as it was 
at the last flood, when it was 6J inches higher than 
ever known before. The rain is still falling heavily, 
and when we consider the enormous, almost frightful, 
quantity of snow in the mountains, the most alarming 
fears may most reasonably be entertained. All seem 
to join in the belief that the present will exceed any 
previous flood known. 

The accounts we receive from the mining districts 
are really heart rending ; death by cold and starva- 
tion has visited many poor unfortunates, while as yet 
the tale of horrors is but half told. It was feared 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 293 

that as intelligence should be received from the moun- 
tains, we shall have to record the sad fate of many 
more. 

Great quantities of gold are still obtained in Cali- 
fornia. The average value of the gold dust brought 
by each steamer of the Panama line is about $500,000. 
This is an astonishing production ; and we are almost 
ready to believe the enthusiastic declarations of the 
first adventurers in this El Dorado, that the gold re- 
gion is inexhaustible. 

Emigration to California continues to be extensive. 
Most of those who intend to become permanent settlers 
proceed by the overland route, from Independence, 
Missouri, to Sacramento City. Late in the summer 
of every year, a relief train is sent from the settled 
portion of California, to meet the emigrants. Many 
persons are thus saved from death by starvation. 
The expense of the relief train is a consideration of 
little importance, when its object is borne in mind. 
Had the same measure been adopted soon after the 
gold discovery, many of those whose bones are bleach- 
ing on the plains, would have survived to become use- 
ful citizens of California. 

Interesting proceedings have taken place in the 
United States Senate, in regard to the Tehuantepec 
route to California. The Mexican government has 
shown a disposition to prevent the construction of a 
road across Tehuantepec, which some senators think 
should be promptly rebuked. In a recent speech 
upon the subject, Mr. Mason, of Virginia, said that 
the acquisition of California and the intervening terri- 
tor}', placed this Government in the position of having 
some of its dependencies almost inaccessible. The 
discovery of the gold in California, made the subject 
21 



294 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

of a communication with that region, of the deepest 
importance, and has naturally drawn the eyes of the 
world to the necessity of securing some safe, reliable, 
and speedy right of way to the Pacific Ocean. Pana- 
ma has been sought, and it has been used as a place 
of transit, without any serious objection on the part 
of any government there. Mexico alone has inter- 
posd an obstacle to this desired communication with 
the Pacific. Mexico, from whom our territory was 
derived, and who is our neighbor and sister Republic, 
has alone refused the right of way to the world, and 
has not only refused the right of transit to other 
nations, but has also set aside an existing grant of 
that right. For years, enterprises have been pro- 
jected to connect the two Oceans at Tehuantepec. 
In view of the vast importance of this connection, the 
minds of the people of the United States have been 
concentrated upon the discovery of that plan which 
shall be the least expensive, and at the same time the 
most certain and efficient, to unite the two Oceans by 
means of travel or transportation. Mr. Mason read 
a table showing the distance between New York and 
San Francisco by the Chagres route, to be 6650 miles ; 
between New Orleans and San Francisco, by way of 
Chagres, 5675 miles; between New York and San 
Francisco, by the Tehuantepec route, 4970 ; between 
New Orleans and San Francisco, by the Tehuantepec, 
3740 miles. The average time from New York to 
San Francisco, by the Chagres route, was 28 days, 
and the shortest 24 days. The average time by the 
Tehuantepec route was 19 days, and the shortest 15. 
From New Orleans, by way of Tehuantepec, the 
average time would be 14 days, and the shortest 
12 days. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 295 

It is believed that spirited action on the part of our 
government will secure from Mexico the recognition 
of a right of way across Tehuantcpcc, which, accord- 
ing to Senator Mason's able representation, is but a 
matter of justice. Mexico is at present almost ready 
to fall to pieces, most of its states, or provinces, being 
in successful rebellion. She is not, therefore, in a 
condition to resist a formidable foreign power. It is 
lamentable, when a government is weak, and yet 
dares to be unjust. The people of California have a 
considerable stake in the decision of the Tehuantepec 
question. 

The gold region is constantly being extended by 
new discoveries — especially in the north-eastern sec- 
tion of the state. In the meantime the old mines 
continue to yield a good profit to industrious laborers. 
Before the recent flood, the mining news from the 
Mariposa diggings was very favorable — the miners 
averaging from $25 to $30 a day. On Cottonwood 
Creek, Shosta Valley, operations were also well re- 
warded — one company making $100 per day to the 
hand. The number of persons engaged in mining and 
crushing the gold-bearing quartz is very large, and 
the yield rewards the toil. 

The miners still occasionally take upon themselves 
the punishment of offenders. Recently, a half-breed 
Mexican, named John Bathus, having stolen $800 in 
gold dust from S. B. Star, on the Klamath, was 
caught, tried by the miners of the district, convicted, 
sentenced to be shot, and executed accordingly. 
About the same time, a man named Morrison, having 
committed a theft among the miners on Humbug 
Creek, was caught, and received twelve lashes on his 
bare back These cases, however, occurred in wild 



296 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

districts, where the laws of the State are but imper- 
fectly executed, and where summary measures can 
alone secure the miner in possession of his hard-earned 
property. 

The Indians in the State are very troublesome, in 
spite of the strong regular force kept in vigilant ser- 
vice. The most recent disturbances have occurred in 
Trinity County, whither Gen. Hitchcock was com- 
pelled to despatch a company of United States troops. 
Prompt and vigorous measures being adopted, the 
savages were quieted. Other disturbances in that 
section of the country about the mouth of the Kla- 
math, were terminated as promptly. 

A late number of the Shasta Courier "says, the 
Indians on Churn Creek, on the east side of the Sac- 
ramento river, have become very annoying to the 
whites. They have stolen a great many mules, and 
are constantly watching for opportunities to take 
human life. But recently, a man named Henry Wel- 
den, was pursued for several miles by a band of these 
Indians, and narrowly escaped with his life. In con- 
sequence of these outrages, a company of miners was 
formed for the purpose of driving the savages to a 
safer distance, or exterminating them. The company 
was equipped for efficient service in the mountains. 
The Indians fled before them, and could not be over- 
taken. 

Several months previous the Indians on the Gila 
were incited to war by some reckless Mexicans. 
Several expeditions were sent against them from Fort 
Yumas, and recently the savages have been so far 
quieted, that the country is now considered safe for 
emigrants. 

Among the new and most remarkable placers, ar§ 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 297 

the gold bluffs, situated near the mouth of the Kla- 
math river, about thirty miles north of Trinidad. 
The approach to them by land is over a plain of sand, 
into which the traveller sinks ankle-deep at every 
step. The bluffs stretch along some five or six miles, 
and present a perpendicular front to the ocean of 
from 100 to 400 feet in height. In ordinary weather 
the beach is from 20 to 50 feet in width, composed 
of a mixture of gray and black sand, the latter con- 
taining the gold in scales so fine that they cannot be 
separated by the ordinary process of washing ; so 
that resort must be had to chemical means. The 
beach changes with every tide, and sometimes no 
black, auriferous sand is to be seen on the surface. 
By digging down, it is found mixed with gray sand, 
which largely predominates. The violence of the 
surf renders landing in boats impracticable. When 
the beach was discovered early in 1851, several tons 
of goods were landed from a steamer despatched 
thither, by means of lines from the vessel to the 
sliore. The Pacific Mining Company have made good 
profits in working the bluffs and the sand of the 
beach. 

Tunneling has been carried on quite extensively in 
the mining region. Some of the tunnels through 
solid rock are wonderful achievements. At Duggan's 
Flat, a party bored 150 feet in the solid rock before 
finding the gold. 

Professor Forrest Shepherd, of New Haven, has 
made some remarkable discoveries of thermal action 
in California. In one place where there was nothing 
on the surface to attract attention, on digging down 
the heat increased so rapidly that at the depth of two 
feet he could not bear his hand in the earth, and the 



298 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

thermometer indicated a temperature of 130 degrees. 
At another place, after "wandering for four days 
through dense thickets, he came upon a chasm a thou- 
sand feet deep, through which flowed a stream, the 
banks of which, on the 8th of February, were covered 
with vegetation. Following up the stream, the earth 
grew so hot as to burn the feet through the boots. 
There was no appearance of lava, and the rocks were 
being dissolved by a powerful catalytic action. From 
innumerable orifices steam was forced to the height 
of two hundred feet. The number of spouting geysers 
and boiling springs, on a half mile square, exceeded 
two hundred. The Professor, in the course of a lec- 
ture delivered at San Jose, said he did not doubt that 
silver, lead, and iron abounded in California. 

The legislation of Congress in regard to California 
has sometimes been of a very unsatisfactory cha- 
racter. By an act passed in 1850, the Secretary of 
the Treasury was authorized to contract upon the 
most reasonable terms with the proprietors of some 
well-established assaying works then in successful 
operation in California, who should perform such 
duties in assaying and fixing the value of gold in 
grains and lumps, and in forming the same into bars, 
as should be prescribed by the Secretary of the Trea- 
sury, and the assayer was to fix the stamp of the 
United States, indicating the degree of fineness and 
value, upon each bar or ingot. This was a measure 
of convenience, and the merchants of the California 
ports had then ample means of paying their custom 
house duties. In 1852, however, Congress passed 
an act, creating a branch mint of the United States 
in California : and to this act was appended a clause, 
repealing the act which authorized the office of As- 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 209 

sayer, as soon as public notice was given of the crea- 
tion of the branch mint. In consequence of this 
legislation, the Assayer's office was abolished, and 
yet there was no mint for coining in the golden land. 
Time was required for making the necessary appro- 
priation of money, erecting buildings, and construct- 
ing machinery, all of which had not been considered, 
The clause of the former act which made the stamped 
ingots receivable for duties was repealed. The mer- 
chants of California had no means of paying their 
duties at the custom house, and great excitement and 
confusion ensued. Finally, an arrangement was made 
with the Collector of San Francisco, under which un- 
coined gold could be received in payment of duties, 
and then business went on as usual. Care is one of 
the first essentials of beneficial legislation. The cir- 
cumstance that the people of California are so far from 
the seat of the federal government, requires a strict 
attention in legislators, to prevent evils which cannot 
be quickly remedied. 

The people of California seem to be deeply inte- 
rested in the construction of a great railroad from 
the Mississippi to the Pacific. At San Diego, seve- 
ral meetings have been held, and reports adopted, 
advocating and exhibiting the advantages of a south- 
ern route for the proposed railroad. The route which 
the meetings favored is to start from the Gulf of 
Mexico or some of its tributaries, and passing through 
Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico to California, and 
strike the Pacific at San Diego. Its entire length 
would not exceed sixteen hundred miles, whilst it 
would have the advantages, as alleged by the report, 
of passing through a section in which universal sum- 



300 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

mer prevails, and of affording opportunities for late- 
ral roads connecting with the cities of Mexico, through 
which a large trade might be obtained. The subject 
has been brought to the consideration of Congress, 
and that body has prudently appropriated a large 
sum for a survey of the various routes proposed. 



APPENDIX. 



Appendix A. 

CONSTITUTION OF CALIFORNIA. 

PROCLAMATION TO THE PEOPLE OF CALIFORNIA 

The delegates of the people assembled in Conven- 
tion, have formed a constitution, which is now pre- 
sented for jour ratification. The time and manner 
of voting on this constitution, and of holding the 
first general election, are clearly set forth in the sche- 
dule. The whole subject is, therefore, left for your 
unbiassed and deliberate consideration. 

The Prefect (or person exercising the functions of 
that ofBce) of each district, will designate the places 
for opening the polls, and give due notice of the elec- 
tion, in accordance with the provisions of the consti- 
tution and schedule. 

The people are now called upon to form a govern- 
ment for themselves, and to designate such officers as 
they desire, to make and execute the laws. That 
their choice may be wisely made, and that the govern- 

301 



302 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

ment so organized may secure the permanent welfare 
and happiness of the people of the new State, is the 
sincere and earnest wish of the present Executive, 
who, if the constitution be ratified, will, with pleasure, 
surrender his powers to whomsoever the people may 
designate as his successor. 

Given at Monterey, California, this 12th day of 
October, A. D., 1849. 

(Signed) B. Riley, 

Brevet Brig. General, U. S. A., and Governor of 
California. 
(Official) H. W. Halleck, 

Brevet Captain and Secretary of State. 



WE THE PEOPLE OF CALIFORNIA, GRATEFUL TO AL- 
MIGHTY GOD FOR OUR FREEDOM, IN ORDER TO 
SECURE ITS BLESSINGS, DO ESTABLISH THIS CON- 
STITUTION : — 

ARTICLE I. 

DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. 

Sec. 1. All men are by nature free and indepen- 
dent, and have certain inalienable rights, among 
which are those of enjoying and defending life and 
liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, 
and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness. 

Sec. 2. All political power is inherent in the peo- 
ple. Government is instituted for the protection, se- 
curity, and benefit of the people ; and they have the 
right to alter or reform the same, whenever the pub- 
lic good may require it. 



HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 303 

Sec. 3. The right of trial by jury shall be secured 
to all, and remain inviolate for ever ; but a jury trial 
may be waived by the parties, in all civil cases, in the 
manner to be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 4. The free exercise and enjoyment of reli- 
gious profession and worship, without discrimination 
or preference, shall for ever be allowed in this State ; 
and no person shall be rendered incompetent to be a 
witness on account of his opinions on matters of reli- 
gious belief; but the liberty of conscience, hereby 
secured, shall not be so construed as to excuse acts 
of licentiousness, or justify practices inconsistent with 
the peace or safety of this State. 

Sec. 5. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus 
shall not be suspended, unless when, in cases of rebel- 
lion or invasion, the public safety may require its 
suspension. 

Sec. 6. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor 
excessive fines imposed, nor shall cruel or unusual 
punishments be inflicted, nor shall witnesses be un- 
reasonably detained. 

Sec. 7. All persons shall be bailable, by sufficient 
sureties : unless for capital offences, when the proof is 
evident or the presumption great. 

Sec. 8. No person shall be held to answer for a 
capital or otherwise infamous crime (except in cases 
of impeachment, and in cases of militia when in ac- 
tual service, and the land and naval forces in time of 
war> or which this State may keep with the consent 
of Congress in time of peace, and in cases of petit 
larceny under the regulation of the Legislature,) un- 
less on presentment or indictment of a grand jury ; 
and in any trial in any court whatever, the party ac- 
cused shall be allowed to appear and defend in person 
27 R* 



304 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

and with counsel, as in civil actions. No person shall 
be subject to be twice put in jeopardy for the same 
offence ; nor shall he be compelled, in any criminal 
case, to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived 
of life, liberty, or property, without due process of 
law ; nor shall private property be taken for public 
use without just compensation. 

Sec. 9. Every citizen may freely speak, write, and 
publish his sentiments on all subjects, being respon- 
sible for the abuse of that right ; and no law shall be 
passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or 
of the press. In all criminal prosecutions on indict- 
ments for libels, the truth may be given in evidence 
to the jury ; and if it shall appear to the jury that 
the matter charged as libellous is true, and was pub- 
lished with good motives and for justifiable ends, the 
party shall be acquitted : and the jury shall have the 
right to determine the law and the fact. 

Sec. 10. The people shall have the right freely to 
assemble together, to consult for the common good, to 
instruct their representatives, and to petition the legis- 
lature for redress of grievances. 

Sec. 11. All laws of a general nature shall have a 
uniform operation. 

Sec. 12. The military shall be subordinate to the 
civil power. No standing army shall be kept up by 
this State in time of peace ; and in time of war no 
appropriation for a standing army shall be for a 
longer time than two years. 

Sec. 13. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be 
quartered in any house, without the consent of the 
owner ; nor in time of war, except in the manner to 
be prescribed by law. 



niSTORY OF CALIFORNIA. pn% 

Sec. 14. Representation shall be apportioned ac- 
cording to population. 

Sec. 15. No person shall be imprisoned for debt 
in any civil action on mesne or final process, unless 
in cases of fraud ; and no person shall be imprisoned 
for a milita fine in time of peace. 

Sec. 16. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or 
law impairing the obligation of contracts, shall ever 
be passed. 

Sec. 17. Foreigners who are, or who may here- 
after become, bona fide residents of this State, shall 
enjoy the same rights in respect to the possession, en- 
joyment, and inheritance of property, as native born 
citizens. 

Sec. 18. Neither slavery, nor involuntary servi- 
tude, unless for the punishment of crimes, shall ever 
be tolerated in this State. 

Sec. 19. The right of the people to be secure in 
their persons, houses, papers and eifects, against un- 
reasonable seizures and searches, shall not be violated ; 
and no warrant shall issue but on probable cause, 
supported by oath or affirmation, particularly describ- 
ing the place to be searched, and the persons and 
things to be seized. 

Sec. 20. Treason against the State shall consist 
only in levying war against it, adhering to its enemies, 
or giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be 
convicted of treason, unless on the evidence of two 
witnesses to the same overt act, or confession in open 
court. 

Sec. 21. This enumeration of rights shall not be 
construed to impair or deny others retained by the 
people. 



306 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

ARTICLE II. 

RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 

Sec. 1. Every white male citizen of the Unite I 
States, and every white male citizen of Mexico, who 
shall have elected to become a citizen of the United 
States, under the treaty of peace exchanged and rati- 
fied at Queretaro, on the 30th day of May, 1848, of 
the age of twenty-one years, who shall have been a 
resident of the State six months next preceding the 
election, and the county or district in which he claims 
his vote thirty days, shall be entitled to vote at all 
elections which are now or hereafter may be autho- 
rized by law : Provided, that nothing herein contained 
shall be construed to prevent the Legislature, by a 
two-thirds concurrent vote, from admitting to the 
right of suffrage, Indians or the descendants of Indians, 
in such special cases as such a proportion of the legis- 
lative body may deem just and proper. 

Sec. 2. Electors shall, on all cases except treason, 
felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest 
on the days of the election, during their attendance at 
such election, going to and returning therefrom. 

Sec. 3. No elector shall be obliged to perform militia 
duty on the day of election, except in time of war or 
public danger. 

Sec. 4. For the purpose of voting, no person shall 
be deemed to have gained or lost a residence by rea- 
son of his presence or absence while employed in the 
service of the United States ; nor while engaged in 
the navigation of the waters of this State, or of the 
United States, or of the high seas ; nor while a student 
of any seminary of learning ; nor while kept at any 



HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. ?,07 

almshouse, or other asylum, at public expense ; nor 
while confined in any public prison. 

Sec. 5. No idiot or insane person, or person con- 
victed of any infamous crime, shall be entitled to the 
privileges of an elector. 

Sec. 6. All elections by the people shall be by 
ballot. 

ARTICLE III. 

DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS. 

The powers of the government of the State of Cali- 
fornia shall be divided into three separate depart- 
ments : the Legislature, the Executive, and Judicial ; 
and no person charged with the exercise of powers 
properly belonging to one of these departments, shall 
exercise any functions appertaining to either of the 
others; except in the cases hereinafter expressly 
directed or permitted. 

ARTICLE IV. 

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Sec. 1. The legislative power of this State shall 
be vested in a Senate and Assembly, which shall be 
designated the Legislature of the State of California, 
and the enacting clause of every law shall be as fol- 
lows : " The people of the State of California, repre- 
sented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows." 

Sec. 2. TW sessions of the Legislature shall be 
annual, and shall commence on the first Monday of 
January, next ensuing the election of its members ; 
unless the Governor of the State shall, in the interim, 
convene the Legislature by proclamation. 

Sec. 3. The members of the Assembly shall be 



308 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

chosen annually, by the qualified electors of theil 
respective districts, on the Tuesday next after the 
first Monday in November, unless otherwise ordered 
by the Legislature, and their term of office shall be 
one year. 

Sec. 4. Senators and Members of Assembly shall 
be duly qualified electors in the respective counties 
and districts which they represent. 

Sec. 5. Senators shall be chosen for the term of 
two years, at the same time and places as Members 
of Assembly ; and no person shall be a Member of the 
Senate or Assembly, who has not been a citizen and 
inhabitant of the State one year, and of the country 
or district for which he shall be chosen six months 
next before his election. 

Sec. 6. The number of Senators shall not be less 
than one third, nor more than one half, of that of the 
Members of Assembly ; and at the first session of the 
Legislature after this Constitution takes effect, the 
Senators shall be divided by lot as equally as may be, 
into two classes ; the seats of the Senators of the first 
class shall be vacated at the expiration of the first 
year, so that one half shall be chosen annually. 

Sec. 7. When the number of Senators is increased, 
they shall be apportioned by lot, so as to keep the 
two classes as nearly equal in number as possible. 

Sec. 8. Each house shall choose its own officers, and 
judge of the qualifications, elections, and returns of 
its own members. 

Sec. 9. A majority of each house shall constitute a 
quorum to do business; but a smaller number may 
adjourn from day to day, and may compel the attend- 
ance of absent members, in such manner, and under 
such penalties as each house may provide. . 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 309 

Sec. 10. Each house shall determine the rules of 
its own proceedings, and may with the concurrence 
of two-thirds of all the members elected, expel a 
member. 

Sec. 11. Each house shall keep a journal of its own 
proceedings, and publish the same ; and the yeas and 
nays of the members of either house, on any question, 
shall, at the desire of any three members present, be 
entered on the journal. 

Sec. 12. Members of the Legislature shall, in all 
cases except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, 
be privileged from arrest, and they shall not be subject 
to any civil process during the session of the Legisla- 
ture, nor for fifteen days next before the commence- 
ment and after the termination of each session. 

Sec. 13. When vacancies occur in either house, the 
Governor, or the person exercising the functions of 
the Governor, shall issue writs of election to fill such 
vacancies. 

Sec. 14. The doors of each house shall be open, 
except on such occasions as in the opinion of the house 
may require secrecy. 

Sec. 15. Neither house shall, without the consent 
of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to 
any other place than that in which they may be sitting. 

Sec. 16. Any bill may originate in either house of 
the Legislature, and all bills passed by one house may 
be amended in the other. 

Sec. 17. Every bill which may have passed the 
Legislature, shall, before it becomes a law, be pre- 
sented to the Governor. If he approve it, he shall 
sign it ; but if not, he shall return it, with his objec- 
tions, to the house in which it originated, which shall 
enter the same upon the journal, and proceed to re- 
22 



310 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

consider it. If, after such reconsideration, it again 
pass both houses, by yeas and nays, by a majority of 
two-thirds of the members of each house present, it 
shall become a law, notwithstanding the Governor's 
objections. If any bill shall not be returned w T ithin 
ten days after it shall have been presented to him, 
(Sunday excepted,) the same shall be a law, in like 
manner as if he had signed it, unless the Legislature, 
by adjournment, prevent such return. 

Sec. 18. The Assembly shall have the sole power 
of impeachment ; and all impeachments shall be tried 
by the Senate. When sitting for that purpose, the 
Senators shall be upon oath or affirmation ; and no 
person shall be convicted without the concurrence of 
two-thirds of the members present. 

Sec. 19. The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Se- 
cretary of State, Comptroller, Treasurer, Attorney- 
General, Surveyor-General, Justices of the Supreme 
Court, and Judges of the District Courts, shall be 
liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor in office ; 
but judgment in such cases shall extend only to re- 
moval from office, and disqualification to hold any office 
of honor, trust or profit, under the State ; but the 
party convicted, or acquitted, shall nevertheless be 
liable to indictment, trial and punishment, according 
to law. All other civil officers shall be tried for mis- 
demeanors in office, in such manner as the Legislature 
may provide. 

Sec. 20. No Senator or member of Assembly shall, 
during the term for which he shall have been elected, 
be appointed to any civil office of profit, under this 
State, which shall have been created, or the emolu- 
ments of which shall have been increased, during such 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 311 

terra, except such office as may be filled by elections 
by the people. 

Sec. 21. No person holding any lucrative office 
under the United States, or any other power, shall be 
eligible to any civil office of profit, under this State ; 
provided, that officers in the militia, to which there is 
attached no annual salary, or local officers and post- 
masters whose compensation does not exceed five 
hundred dollars per annum, shall not be deemed lucra- 
tive. 

Sec. 22. No person who shall be convicted of the 
embezzlement or defalcation of the public funds of this 
State, shall ever be eligible to any office of honor, 
trust, or profit, under the State ; and the Legislature 
shall, as soon as practicable, pass a law providing for 
the punishment of such embezzlement, or defalcation, 
as a felony. 

Sec. 23. No money shall be drawn from the Trea- 
sury but in consequence of appropriations made by 
law. An accurate statement of the receipts and ex- 
penditures of the public moneys shall be attached to, 
and published with, the laws, at every regular session 
of the Legislature. 

Sec. 24. The members of the Legislature shall 
receive for their services, a compensation to be fixed 
by law, and paid out of the public treasury ; but no 
increase of the compensation shall take effect during 
the term for which the members of either house shall 
have been elected. 

Sec. 25. Every law enacted by the Legislature, 
shall embrace but one object, and that shall be ex- 
pressed in the title ; and no law shall be revised, or 
amended, by reference to its title ; but in such case, 



312 HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 

the act revised, or section amended, shall be re- 
enacted and published at length. 

Sec. 26. No divorce shall be granted by the Legis- 
lature. 

Sec. 27. No lottery shall be authorized by this 
State, nor shall the sale of lottery tickets be allowed. 

Sec. 28. The enumeration of the inhabitants of this 
State shall be taken, under the direction of the Legis- 
lature, in the year one thousand eight hundred and 
fifty-two, and one thousand eight hundred and fifty- 
five, and at the end of every ten years thereafter ; 
and these enumerations, together with the census that 
may be taken, under the direction of the Congress of 
the United States, in the year one thousand eight 
hundred and fifty, and every subsequent ten years, 
shall serve as the basis of representation in both 
houses of the Legislature. 

Sec. 29. The number of Senators and Members of 
Assembly, shall, at the first session of the Legislature, 
holden after the enumeration herein provided for are 
made, be fixed by the Legislature, and apportioned 
among the several counties and districts to be esta- 
blished by law, according to the number of white in- 
habitants. The number of Members of Assembly 
shall not be less than twenty-four, nor more than 
thirty-six, until the number of inhabitants within this 
State shall amount to one hundred thousand: and 
after that period, at such ratio that the whole number 
of Members of Assembly shall never be less than thirty, 
nor more than eighty. 

Sec. 30. When a congressional, senatorial, or 
assembly district, shall be composed of two or more 
counties, it shall not be separated by any county bo 
longing to another district ; and no Gounty shall b 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA.- 313 

divided, in forming a congressional, senatorial, or 
assembly district. 

Sec. 31. Corporations may be formed under gene- 
ral laws, but shall not be created by special act, ex- 
cept for municipal purposes. All general laws and 
special acts passed pursuant to this section may be 
altered from time to time, or repealed. 

Sec. 32. Dues from corporations shall be secured 
by such individual liability of the corporators, and 
other means, as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 33. The term corporations, as used in this 
article, shall be construed to include all associations 
and joint-stock companies, having any of the powers 
or privileges of corporations not possessed by indivi- 
duals or partnerships. And all corporations shall 
have the right to sue, and shall be subject to be sued, 
in all courts, in like cases as natural persons. 

Sec. 34. The Legislature shall have no power to 
to pass any act granting any charter for banking pur- 
poses ; but associations may be formed under general 
laws, for the deposit of gold and silver ; but no such 
association shall make, issue, or put in circulation, 
any bill, check, tickets, certificate, promissory note, 
or other paper, or the paper of any bank, to circulate 
as money. 

Sec. 35. The Legislature of this State shall pro- 
hibit, by law, any person or persons, association, com- 
pany, or corporation, from exercising the privileges 
of banking, or creating paper to circulate as money. 

Sec. 36. Each stockholder of a corporation, or 
joint-stock association, shall be individually and per- 
sonally liable for his proportion of all its debts and 
liabilities. 

Sec. 37. It shall be the duty of the Legislature t«? 



314 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

provide for the organization of cities and incorporated 
villages, and to restrict their power of taxation, as- 
sessment, borrowing money, contracting debts, and 
loaning their credit, so as to prevent abuses in assess- 
ments, and in contracting debts, by such municipal 
corporations. 

Sec. 38. In all elections by the Legislature, the 
members thereof shall vote viva voce, and the votes 
shall be entered on the journal. 

ARTICLE V. 

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Sec. 1. The supreme executive power of this State 
shall be vested in a chief magistrate, who shall be 
styled the Governor of the State of California. 

Sec. 2. The Governor shall be elected by the 
qualified electors, at the time and places of voting for 
Members of Assembly, and shall hold his office two 
years from the time of his installation, and until his 
successor shall be qualified. 

Sec. 3. No person shall be eligible to the office of 
Governor (except at the first election) who has not 
been a citizen of the United States and a resident of 
this State two years next preceding the election, and 
attained the age of twenty-five years at the time of 
said election. 

Sec. 4. The returns of every election for Governor 
shall be sealed up and transmitted to the seat of gov- 
ernment, directed to the Speaker of the Assembly, 
who shall, during the firs£ week of the session, open 
and publish them in presence of both houses of the 
Legislature. The person having the highest number 
of votes shall be Governor ; but in case any two or 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 3 J 5 

more have an equal and the highest number of votes, 
the Legislature shad by jomt-vote of both houses, 
choose one 01 said persons, so having an equal and 
the highest number of yotes, for Governor. 

Sec. 5. The Governor shall be commander-in-chief 
of the militia, the army, and navy of this State. 

Sec. 6. He shall transact all executive business 
with the officers of government, civil and military, 
and may require information in writing from the 
officers of the executive department, upon any subject 
relating to the duties of the respective offices. 

Sec. 7. He shall see that the laws are faithfully 
executed. 

Sec. 8. When any office shall, from any cause, be- 
come vacant, and no mode is provided by the constitu. 
tion and laws for filling such vacancy, the Governor 
shall have power to fill such vacancy by granting a 
commission, which shall expire at the end of the next 
session of the Legislature, or at the next election by 
the people. 

Sec. 9. He may, on extraordinary occasions, con- 
vene the Legislature by proclamation, and shall state 
to both houses, when assembled, the purpose for which 
they shall have been convened. 

Sec. 10. He shall communicate by message to the 
Legislature, at every session, the condition of the 
State, and recommend such matters as he shall deem 
expedient. 

Sec. 11. in case of a disagreement between the 
two houses, with respect to the time of adjournment, 
.the Governor shall have power to adjourn the Legis- 
lature to such time as he may think proper; Provided 
it be not beyond the time fixed for the meeting of the 
next Legislature: 



316 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

Sec. 12. No person shall, while holding any office 
under the United States, or this State, exercise the 
office of Governor, except as hereinafter expressly 
provided. 

Sec. 13. The Governor shall have the power to 
grant reprieves and pardons after conviction, for all 
offences except treason, and cases of impeachment, 
upon such conditions, and with such restrictions and 
limitations, as he may think proper, subject to such 
regulations as may be provided by law relative to the 
manner of applying for pardons. Upon conviction 
for treason he shall have the power to suspend the 
execution of the sentence until the case shall be re- 
ported to the Legislature at its next meeting, when 
the Legislature shall either pardon, direct the execu- 
tion of the sentence, or grant a further reprieve. He 
shall communicate to the Legislature, at the begin- 
ning of every session, every case of reprieve, or par- 
don granted, stating the name of the convict, the 
crime of which he was convicted, the sentence and its 
date, and the date of the pardon or reprieve. 

Sec. 14. There shall be a seal of this State, which 
shall be kept by the Governor, and used by him 
officially, and it shall be called "The Great Seal of \ 
the State of California." 

Sec. 15. All grants and commissions shall be in 
the name and by the authority of the people of the- 
State of California, sealed with the great seal of the 
State, signed by the Governor, and countersigned by 
the Secretary of State. 

Sec. 16. A Lieutenant-Governor shall be electee 
at the same time and place, and in the same mannerl 
as the Governor ; and his term of office, and his qua-| 
lifications, shall also be the same. He shall be Pre- 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 3f7 

Bident of the Senate, but shall only have a casting 
vote therein. If, during a vacancy of the office of 
Governor, the Lieutenant-Governor shall be im- 
peached, displaced, resign, die, or become incapable 
of performing the duties of his office, or be absent 
from the State, the President of the Senate shall act 
as Governor, until the vacancy be filled, or the dis- 
ability shall cease. 

Sec. 17. In case of the impeachment of the Go- 
vernor, or his removal from office, death, inability to 
discharge the powers and duties of the said office, 
resignation or absence from the State, the powers and 
duties of the office shall devolve upon the Lieutenant- 
Governor for the residue of the term, or until the 
disability shall cease. But when the Governor shall, 
with the consent of the Legislature, be out of the 
State in time of war, at the head of any military force 
thereof, he shall continue commander-in-chief of all 
the military forces of the State. 

Sec. 18. A Secretary of State, a Comptroller, a 
Treasurer, an Attorney- General and Surveyor-Gene- 
ral, shall be chosen in the manner provided in this 
Constitution ; and the term of office, and eligibility 
of each, shall be the same as are prescribed for the 
Governor and Lieutenant-Governor. 

Sec. 19. The Secretary of State shall be appointed 
by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate. He shall keep a fair record of 
the official acts of the Legislature and Executive 
Departments of the Government ; and shall, when 
required, lay the same, and all matters relative there- 
to, before either branch of the Legislature : and 
shall perform such other duties as shall be assigned 
him by law. 



318 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

Sec. 20. The Comptroller, Treasurer, Attorney- 
General and Survey or- General, shall be chosen by 
joint vote of the two Houses of the Legislature, at 
their first session under this Constitution, and there- 
after shall be elected at the same time and places, 
and in the same manner, as the Governor and Lieu- 
tenant-Governor. 

Sec. 21. The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Se- 
cretary of State, Comptroller, Treasurer, Attorney- 
General, and Surveyor-General, shall each at stated 
times during their continuance in office, receive for 
their services a compensation, which shall not be in- 
creased or diminished during the term for which they 
shall have been elected ; but neither of these officers 
shall receive for his own use any fees for the perform- 
ance of his official duties. 

ARTICLE VI. 

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 

Sec. 1. The judicial power of this State shall be 
vested in a Supreme Court, in District Courts, in 
County Courts, and in Justices of the Peace. The 
Legislature may also establish such municipal and 
other inferior courts as may be deemed necessary. 

Sec. 2. The Supreme Court shall consist of a 
Chief Justice, and two Associate Justices, any two of 
whom shall constitute a quorum. 

Sec. 8. The Justices of the Supreme Court shall 
be elected at the general election, by the qualified 
electors of the State, and shall hold their office for 
the term of six years from the first day of January 
next after their election; prov.ded that the Legisla- 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 31 S 

ture shall, at its first meeting, elect a Chief Justice 
and two Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, by 
joint vote of both houses, and so classify them that 
one shall go out of office every two years. After the 
first election, the senior Justice in commission shall 
be the Chief Justice. 

Sec. 4. The Supreme Court shall have appellate 
jurisdiction in all cases when the matter in dispute 
exceeds two hundred dollars, when the legality of 
any tax, toll, or impost, or municipal fine is in ques- 
tion : and in all criminal cases amounting to felony, 
or questions of law alone. And the said court tfnd 
each of the Justices thereof, as well as all district and 
county judges, shall have power to issue writs of ha- 
beas corpus, at the instance of any person held in 
actual custody. They shall also have power to issue 
all other writs and process necessary to the exercise 
of the appellate jurisdiction, and shall be conserva- 
tors of the peace throughout the State. 

Sec. 5. The State shall be divided by the first 
Legislature into a convenient number of districts, 
subject to such alteration from time to time as the 
public good may require ; for each of which a district 
judge shall be appointed by the joint vote of the 
legislature, at its first meeting, who shall hold his 
office for two years from the first day of January 
next after his election ; after which, said judges shall 
be elected by the qualified electors of their respective 
districts, at the general election, and shall hold their 
office for the term of six years. 

Sec. 6. The District Courts shall have original 
jurisdiction, in law and equity, in all civil cases where 
the amount in dispute exceeds two hundred dollars, 

exclusive of interest. In all criminal cases not other 

S 28 



320 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

wise provided for, and in all issues of fact joined in 
the probate courts, their jurisdiction shall be unlimited. 

Sec. 7. The Legislature shall provide for the elec- 
tion, by the people, of a Clerk of the Supreme Court, 
and County Clerks, District Attorneys, Sheriffs, Coro- 
ners, and other necessary officers ; and shall fix by 
law their duties and compensation. County Clerks 
shall be, ex-officio, Clerks of the District Courts in 
and for their respective counties. 

Sec. 8. There shall be elected in each of the or- 
ganized counties of this State, one County Judge 
who shall hold his office for four years. He shall 
hold the County Court, and perform the duties of 
Surrogate, or Probate Judge. The County Judge, 
with two Justices of the Peace, to be designated ac- 
cording to law, shall hold courts of sessions, with 
such criminal jurisdiction as the Legislature shall pre- 
scribe, and he shall perform such other duties as shall 
be required by law. 

Sec. 9. The County Courts shall have such juris- 
diction, in cases arising in Justices Courts, and in spe- 
cial cases, as the Legislature may prescribe, but shall 
have no original civil jurisdiction, except in such spe- 
cial cases. 

Sec. 10. The times and places of holding the 
terms of the Supreme Court, and the general and spe- 
cial terms of the District Courts within the several 
districts, shall be provided for by law. 

Sec. 11. No judicial officer, except a Justice of the 
Peace, shall receive to his own use, any fees, or per 
quisites of office. 

Sec. 12. The Legislature shall provide for the 
speedy publication of all statute laws, and of such 
judicial decisions as it may deem expedient ; and all 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 321 

laws and judicial decisions shall be free for publica* 
tion by any person. 

Sec. 13. Tribunals for conciliation may be esta- 
blished, with such powers and duties as may be pre- 
scribed by law; but such tribunals shall have no 
power to render judgment to be obligatory on the 
parties, except they voluntarily submit their matters 
in difference, and agree to abide the judgment, or 
assent thereto in the presence of such tribunal, in 
such cases as shall be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 14. The Legislature shall determine the num- 
ber of Justices of the Peace, to be elected in each 
county, city, town, and incorporated village of the 
State, and fix by law their powers, duties, and respon- 
sibilities. It shall also determine in what cases 
appeals may be made from Justices' Courts to the 
County Court. 

Sec. 15. The Justices of the Supreme Court, and 
Judges of the District Court, shall severally, at stated 
times during their continuance in office, receive for 
their services a compensation, to be paid out of the 
treasury, which shall not be increased or diminished 
during the term for which they shall have been elected. 
The County Judges shall also severally, at stated 
times, receive for their services a compensation to be 
paid out of the county treasury of their respective 
counties, which shall not be increased or diminished 
during the term for which they shall have been elected. 

Sec. 16. The Justices of the Supreme Court and 
District Judges shall be ineligible to any other office, 
during the term for which they shall have been elected. 

Sec. 17. Judges shall not charge juries with respect 
to matters of fact, but may state the testimony and 
declare the law. 



322 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

Sec. 18, The style of all process shall be "The 
People of the State of California ;" all the prosecu- 
tions shall be conducted in the name and by the autho- 
rity of the same. 

ARTICLE VII. 

MILITIA. 

Sec. 1. The Legislature shall provide by law, for 
organizing and disciplining the militia, in such manner 
as they shall deem expedient, not incompatible with 
the constitution and laws of the United States. 

Sec. 2. Officers of the militia shall be elected, or 
appointed, in such manner as the Legislature shall 
from time to time direct ; and shall be commissioned 
by the Governor. 

Sec. 3. The Governor shall have power to call forth 
the militia, to execute the laws of the State, to sup- 
press insurrections, and repel invasions. 

ARTICLE YIII. 

STATE DEBTS. 

The Legislature shall not in any manner create any 
debt or debts, liability or liabilities, which shall singly, 
or in the aggregate, with any previous debts or liabili- 
ties exceed the sum of three hundred thousand dollars, 
except in case of war, to repel invasion, or suppress 
insurrection, unless the same shall be authorized by 
some law for some single object or work, to be distinctly 
specified therein, which law shall provide ways and 
means, exclusive of loans, for the payment of the 
interest of such debt or liability, as it falls due, and 
also pay and discharge the principal of such debt of 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 323 

liability within twenty years from the time of thd 
contracting thereof, and shall be irrepcalable until the 
principal and interest thereon shall be paid and dis- 
charged ; but no such law shall take effect until, at a 
general election, it shall have been submitted to the 
people, and have received a majority of all the votes 
cast for and against it at such election ; and all money 
raised by authority of such law shall be applied only 
to the specific object therein stated, or to the payment 
of the debt thereby created ; and such law shall be 
published in at least one newspaper in each judicial 
district, if one be published therein, throughout the 
State, for three months next preceding the election at 
which it is submitted to the people. 

ARTICLE IX. 

EDUCATION. 

Sec. 1. The Legislature shall provide for the elec- 
tion, by the people, of a Superintendent of Public 
Instruction, who shall hold his office for three years, 
and whose duties shall be prescribed by law, and who 
shall receive such compensation as the Legislature may 
direct. 

Sec. 2. The Legislature shall encourage, by all suit- 
able means, the promotion of intellectual, scientific, 
moral and agricultural improvement. The proceeds 
of all lands that may be granted by the United States 
to this State for the support of schools, which may be 
sold or disposed of, and the five hundred thousand 
acres of land granted to the new States, under an act 
of Congress distributing the proceeds of the public 
lands among the several States of the Union, approved 
A. D. 1841 ; and all estates of deceased persons who 



324 HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 

may have died without leaving a will, or heir, and 
also such per cent, as may be granted by Congress on 
the sale of lands in this State, shall be and remain a 
perpetual fund, the interest of which, together with 
all the rents of the unsold lands, and such other means 
as the Legislature may provide, shall be inviolably 
appropriated to the support of Common Schools 
throughout the State. 

Sec. 3. The Legislature shall provide for a system 
of Common Schools, by which a school shall be kept 
up and supported in each district at least three months 
in every year : and any school district neglecting to 
keep up and support such a school, may be deprived 
of its proportion of the interest of the public fund 
during such neglect. 

Sec. 4. The Legislature shall take measures for the 
protection, improvement, or other disposition of such 
lands as have been, or may hereafter be, reserved or 
granted by the United States, or any person or per- 
sons to this State for the use of a University ; and the 
funds accruing from the rents or sale of such lands, or 
from any other source, for the purpose aforesaid, shall 
be and remain a permanent fund, the interest of which 
shall be applied to the support of said university, with 
such branches as the public convenience may demand 
for the promotion of literature, the arts and sciences, 
as may be authorized by the terms of such grant. 
And it shall be the duty of the Legislature, as soon as 
may be, to provide effectual means for the improve- 
ment and permanent security of the funds of said 
University. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 



ARTICLE X. 

MODE OF AMENDING AND REVISING THE 

CONSTITUTION. 

Sec. 1. Any amendment or amendments to this 
Constitution may be proposed in the Senate or Assem- 
bly ; and if the same shall be agreed to by a majority 
of the members elected to each of the two houses, such 
proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered 
on their journals, with the yeas and nays taken thereon, 
and referred to the Legislature then next to be chosen, 
and shall be published for three months next preced- 
ing the time of making such choice. And if, in the 
Legislature next chosen, as aforesaid, such proposed 
amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by a 
majority of all the members elected to each house, then 
it shall be the duty of the Legislature to submit such 
proposed amendment or amendments to the people, in 
such manner, and at such time, as the Legislature shall 
prescribe ; and if the people shall approve and ratify 
such amendment or amendments, by a majority of the 
electors qualified to vote for members of the Legisla- 
ture voting thereon, such amendment or amendments 
shall become part of the Constitution. 

Sec. 2. And if, at any time, two-thirds of the Senate 
and Assembly shall think it necessary to revise and 
change this entire Constitution, they shall recommend 
to the electors, at the next election for members of the 
Legislature, to vote for or against the convention ; 
and if it shall appear that a majority of the electors 
voting at such election have voted in favor of calling 
a convention, the Legislature shall, at its next session, 
provide by law for calling a convention, to be holden 
23 



326 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

within six months after the passage of such law ; and 
such convention shall consist of a number of members 
not less than that of both branches of the Legislature, 

ARTICLE XL 

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 

Sec. 1. The first session of the Legislature shall be 
held at the Pueblo de San Jose, which place shall be 
the permanent seat of government, until removed bj 
law; provided, however, that two-thirds of all the 
members elected to each house of the Legislature 
shall concur in the passage of such law. 

Sec. 2. Any citizen of this State who shall,, after 
the adoption of this Constitution, fight a duel with 
deadly weapons, or send or accept a challenge to fight 
a duel with deadly weapons, either within the State 
or out of it ; or who shall act as second, or knowingly 
aid or assist in any manner those thus offending, shall 
not be allowed to hold any office of profit, or to enjoy 
the right of suffrage under this Constitution. 

Sec. 3. Members of the Legislature, and all officers, 
executive, and judicial, except such inferior officers as 
may be by law exempted, shall, before they enter on 
the duties of their respective offices, take and sub- 
scribe the following oath or affirmation. 

" I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may 
be,) that I will support the Constitution of the 
United States, and the Constitution of the State of 
California : and that I will faithfully discharge the 

duties of the office of , according to the best 

of my ability." And no other oath, declaration, or 
test, shall be required as a qualification for any office 
or public trust. 



niSTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 327 

Sec. 4. The Legislature shall establish a system of 
county and town governments, which shall be as 
nearly uniform as practicable, throughout the State. 

Sec. 5. The Legislature shall have power to pro- 
vide for the election of a board of supervisors in each 
county ; and these supervisors shall, jointly and indi- 
vidually, perform such duties as may be prescribed 
by law. 

Sec. 6. All officers whose election or appointment 
is not provided for by this constitution, and all officers 
whose offices may hereafter be created by law, shall 
be elected by the people, or appointed as the Legisla- 
ture may direct. 

Sec. 7. When the duration of any office is not pro- 
vided for by this constitution, it may be declared by 
law ; and of not so declared, such office shall be held 
during the pleasure of the authority making the ap- 
pointment; nor shall the duration of any office; not 
fixed by this constitution, ever exceed four years. 

Sec. 8. The fiscal year shall commence on the first 
day of July. 

Sec. 9. Each county, town, city, and incorporated 
village, shall make provision for the support of its 
own officers, subject to such restrictions and regula- 
tions as the Legislature may prescribe. 

Sec. 10. The credit of the State shall not in any 
manner be given or loaned to, or in aid of, any indi- 
vidual, association, or corporation ; nor shall the 
State, directly or indirectly, become a stockholder in 
any association or corporation. 

Sec. 11. Suits may be brought against the State, 
in such manner, and in such courts, as shall be directed 
by law. 

Sec. 12. No contract of marriage, if otherwise 
S* 



328 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

duly made, shall be invalidated, for want of confor- 
mity to the requirements of any religious sect. 

Sec. 13. Taxation shall be equal and uniform 
throughout the State. All property, in this State, 
shall be taxed in proportion to its value, to be ascer- 
tained as directed by law ; but assessors and collectors 
of town, county, and State taxes, shall be elected by 
the qualified electors of the district, county, or town, 
in which the property taxed for State, county, or 
town purposes is situated. 

Sec. 14. All property, both real and personal, of 
the wife, owned or claimed by her before marriage, 
and that acquired afterwards by gift, devise, or 
descent, shall be her separate property; and laws 
shall be passed more clearly defining the rights of the 
wife, in relation as well to her separate property, as 
to that held in common with her husband. Laws 
shall also be passed providing for the restoration of 
the wife's separate property. 

Sec. 15. The Legislature shall protect by law, from 
forced sale, a certain portoin of the homestead and 
other property of all heads of families. 

Sec. 16. No perpetuities shall be allowed, except 
for eleemosynary purposes. 

Sec. 17. Every person shall be disqualified from 
holding any office of profit in this State, who shall 
have been convicted of having given or offered a bribe, 
to procure his election or appointment. 

Sec. 18. Laws shall be made to exclude from office, 
serving on juries, and from the right of suffrage, those 
who shall hereafter be convicted of bribery, perjury, 
forgery, or other high crimes. The privilege of free 
suffrage shall be supported by laws regulating elec- 
tions, and prohibiting, under adequate penalties, al] 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 



3.29 



undue influence thereon, from power, bribery, tumult, 
or other improper practice. 

Sec. 19. Absence from this State on business of 
the State, or of the United States, shall not affect the 
question or residence of any person. 

Sec. 20. A plurality of the votes given at any elec- 
tion shall constitute a choice, where not otherwise 
directed in this constitution. 

Sec. 21. All laws, decrees, regulations and provi- 
sions, which from their nature require publication, 
shall be published in English and Spanish. 

ARTICLE XII. 

BOUNDARY. 

The boundary of the State of California shall be as 
follows : — 

Commencing at the point of intersection of the 42d 
degree of north latitude with the 120th degree of 
longitude west from Greenwich, and running south on 
the line of said 120th degree of west longitude until it 
intersects the 39th degree of north latitude ; thence 
running in a straight line in a south-easterly direction 
to the River Colorado, at a point where it intersects 
the 35th degree of north latitude ; thence down the 
middle of the channel of said river, to the boundary 
line between the United States and Mexico, as esta- 
blished by the treaty of May 30th, 1848 ; thence run- 
ning west and along said boundary line to the Pacific 
Ocean, and extending therein three English miles ; 
thence running in a north-westerly direction, and follow- 
ing the direction of the Pacific coast to the 42d degree 
of north latitude ; thence on the line of said 42d 
degree of north latitude to the place of beginning. 



330 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

Also all the islands, harbors and bays, along and 
adjacent to the Pacific coast. 

SCHEDULE. 

Sec. 1. All rights, prosecutions, claims and con- 
tracts, as well of individuals as of bodies corporate, 
and all laws in force at the time of the adoption of 
this Constitution, and not inconsistent therewith, until 
altered or repealed by the Legislature, shall continue 
as if the same had not been adopted. 

Sec. 2. The Legislature shall provide for the re- 
moval of all causes which may be pending when this 
Constitution goes into effect, to courts created by the 
same. 

Sec. 3. In order that no inconvenience may result 
to the public service, from the taking effect of this 
Constitution, no office shall be superseded thereby, nor 
the laws relative to the duties of the several officers 
be changed, until the entering into office of the new 
officers to be appointed under this Constitution. 

Sec. 4. The provisions of this Constitution con- 
cerning the term of residence necessary to enable 
persons to hold certain offices therein mentioned, 
shall not be held to apply to officers chosen by the 
people at the first election, or by the Legislature at 
its first session. 

Sec. 5. Every citizen of California, declared a le- 
gal voter by this Constitution, and every citizen of the 
United States, a resident of this State on the day of 
election, shall be entitled to vote at the first general 
election under this Constitution, and on the question 
of the adoption thereof. 

Sec. 6. This Constitution shall be submitted to the 
people, for their ratification or rejection, at the 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 331 

general election to be held on Tuesday, the thirteenth 
day of November naxt. The Executive of the exist- 
ing government of California is hereby requested to 
issue a proclamation to the people, directing the Pre- 
fects of the several districts, or in case of vacancy, 
the Sub-Prefects, or senior Judge of First Instance, 
to cause such election to be held, on the day afore- 
said, in their respective districts. The election shall 
be conducted in the manner which was prescribed for 
the election of delegates to this convention, except 
that the Prefect, Sub-Prefect, or senior Judge of First 
Instance ordering such election in each district, shall 
have power to designate any additional number of places 
for opening the polls, and that, in every place of hold- 
ing the election, a regular poll-list shall be kept by the 
judges and inspectors of election. It shall also be the 
duty of these judges and inspectors of election, on 
the day aforesaid, to receive the votes of the electors 
qualified to vote at such election. Each voter shall 
express his opinion, by depositing in the ballot-box a 
ticket, whereon shall be written, or printed " For the 
Constitution," or " Against the Constitution," or 
some such words as will distinctly convey the inten- 
tion of the voter. These Judges and Inspectors shall 
also receive the votes for the several officers to be 
voted for at the said election, as herein provided. 
At the close of the election, the judges and inspec- 
tors shall carefully count each ballot, and forthwith 
make duplicate returns thereof to the Prefect, Sub- 
Prefect, or senior Judge of First Instance, as the 
case may be, of their respective districts ; and said 
Prefect, Sub-Prefect, or senior Judge of First Instance 
shall transmit one of the same, by the most safe and 
rapid conveyance, to the Secretary of State. Upon 



332 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

the receipt of said returns, or on the tenth day of 
December next, if the returns be not sooner received, 
it shall be the duty of a board of canvassers, to con- 
sist of the Secretary of State, one of the Judges of 
the Superior Court, the Prefect, Judge of First In- 
stance, and an Alcalde of the District of Monterey, 
or any three of the aforementioned officers, in the 
presence of all who shall choose to attend, to compare 
the votes given at said election, and to immediately 
publish an abstract of the same in one or more of the 
newspapers of California. And the Executive will 
also, immediately after ascertaining that the Consti- 
tution has been ratified by the people, make proclama- 
tion of the fact ; and thenceforth this Consitution 
shall be ordained and established as the Constitution 
of California. 

Sec. 7. If this Constitution shall be ratified by the 
people of California, the Executive of the existing 
government is hereby requested, immediately after 
the same shall be ascertained, in the manner herein 
directed, to cause a fair copy thereof to be forwarded 
to the President of the United States, in order that 
he may lay it before the Congress of the United 
States. 

.Sec. 8. At the general election aforesaid, viz: 
the thirteenth day of November next, there shall 
be elected a Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, mem- 
bers of the Legislature, and also two members of 
Congress. 

Sec. 9. If this constitution shall be ratified by the 
people of California, the Legislature shall assemble 
at the seat of government, on the fifteenth day of 
December next, and in order to complete the organi- 
zation of that body, the Senate shall elect a Presi- 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 333 

dent pro tempore, until the Lieutenant-Governor shall 
be installed into office. 

Sec. 10. On the organization of the Legislature, it 
shall be the duty of the Secretary of State, to lay 
before each house a copy of the abstract made by the 
board of canvassers, and, if called for, the original 
returns of election, in order that each house may judge 
of the correctness of the report of said board of can- 
vassers. 

Sec. 11. The Legislature, at its first session, shall 
elect such officers as may be ordered by this Constitu- 
tion, to be elected by that body, and within four days 
after its organization, proceed to elect two Senators 
to the Congress of the United States. But no law 
passed by this Legislature shall take effect until signed 
by the Governor, after his installation into office. 

Sec. 12. The Senators and Representatives to the 
Congress of the United States, elected by the Le- 
gislature and people of California, as herein directed, 
shall be furnished with certified copies of this Consti- 
tution, when ratified, which they shall lay before the 
Congress of the United States, requesting, in the name 
of the people of California, the admission of the State 
of California into the American Union. 

Sec. 13. All officers of this State, other than mem- 
bers of the Legislature, shall be installed into office 
on the fifteenth day of December next, or as soon 
thereafter as practicable. 

Sec. 14. Until the Legislature shall divide the 
State into counties, and senatorial and assembly dis- 
tricts, as directed by this Constitution, the following 
shall be the apportionment of the two houses of the 
Legislature, viz : the districts of San Diego and Los 
Angeles shall jointly elect two senators ; the districts 



334 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo shall jointly 
elect one senator ; the district of Monterey, one sena- 
tor ; the district of San Jose, one senator ; the 
district of San Francisco, two senators; the district 
jf Sonoma, one senator ; the district of Sacramento, 
four senators ; and the district of San Joaquin, four 
senators : — And the district of San Diego shall elect 
one member of assembly ; the district of Los Angeles, 
two members of assembly ; the district of Santa Bar- 
bara, two members of assembly ; the district of San 
Luis Obispo, one member of assembly ; the district 
of Monterey, two members of assembly ; the district 
of San Jose, three members of assembly ; the district 
of San Francisco, five members of assembly ; the 
district of Sonoma, two members of assembly ; the 
district of Sacramento, nine members of assembly ; 
and the district of San Joaquin, nine members of 
assembly. 

Sec. 15. Until the Legislature shall otherwise di- 
rect, in accordance with the provisions of this Consti- 
tution, the salary of the Governor shall be ten thousand 
dollars per annum ; and the salary of the Lieutenant- 
Governor shall be double the pay of a state senator ; 
and the pay of members of the Legislature shall be 
sixteen dollars per diem, while in attendance, and 
sixteen dollars for every twenty miles travel by the 
usual route from their residences, to the place of hold- 
ing the session of the Legislature, and in returning 
therefrom. And the Legislature shall fix the salaries 
of all officers, other than those elected by the people, 
at the first election. 

Sec. 16. The limitation of the powers of the Le- 
gislature, contained in article 8th of this Constitution, 
tution, shall not extend to the first Legislature elected 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 



335 



under the same, which is hereby authorized to nego- 
tiate for such amount as may be necessary to pay the 
expenses of the State government. ( 

R. SEMPLE, 
President of the Convention 

and Delegate from Benecifc. 
Wm. G. Marcy, Secretary. 



J. Aram, 

C. T. Botts, 

E. Brown, 

J. A. Carillo, 

J. M. Covarrubias, 

E. 0. Crosby, 

P. De La Guerra, 

L. Dent, 

M. Dominguez, 

K. H. Dimmick, 

A. J. Ellis, 

S. C. Foster, 

E. Gilbert, 

W. M. Gwinn, 

H. W. Halleck, 

Julian Hanks, 

L. W. Hastings, 

Henry Hill, 

J. Hobson, 

J. McH. Hollingsworth, 

J. D. Hoppe, 

J. M. Jones, 

T. 0. Larkin. 

Francis J. Lippitt, 



B. S. Lippincott, 
M. M. McCarver, 
John McDougal, 
B. F. Moore, 
Myron Norton, 
P. Ord, 

Miguel Pedrorena, 
A. M. Pico, 
R. M. Price, 
Hugo Reed, 
Jacinto Rodriguez, 
Pedro Sansevaine, 
W. E. Shannon, 
W. S. Sherwood, 
J. R. Snyder, 
A. Stearns, 
W. M. Steuart, 
J. A. Sutter, 
Henry A. Tefft, 
S. L. Vermule, 
M. G. Yallejo, 
J. Walker, 
0. M. Wozencraft; 



336 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

B. 

ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE OF CALIFORNIA. 

The undersigned, delegates to a convention autho- 
rized to form a Constitution for the State of California, 
having, to the best of their ability, discharged the 
high trust committed to them, respectfully submit the 
accompanying plan of government for your approval. 
Acknowledging the great fundamental principles, that 
all political power is inherent in the people, and that 
government is instituted for the protection, security 
and benefit of the people, the Constitution presented 
for your consideration is intended only to give such 
organic powers to the several departments of the pro- 
posed government, as shall be necessary for its efficient 
administration : and while it is believed no power has 
been given, which is not thus essentially necessary, the 
convention deem individual rights, as well as public 
liberty, are amply secured, by the people still retain- 
ing not only the great conservative power of free' 
choice and election of all officers, agents, and repre- 
sentatives, but the unalienable right to alter or reform 
their government, whenever the public good may 
require. 

Although born in different climes, coming from differ- 
ent States, imbued with local feelings, and educated, 
perhaps, with predilections for peculiar institutions, 
laws, and customs, the delegates assembled in conven- 
tion as Californians, and carried on their deliberations 
in a spirit of amity, compromise, and mutual conces- 
sion for the public weal. 

It cannot be denied that a difference of opinion was 
entertained in the convention, as to the policy and 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 337 

expediency of several measures embodied in the Con- 
stitution ; but looking to the great interests of the 
State of California, the peace, happiness, and pros- 
perity of the whole people, — individual opinions were 
freely surrendered to the will of the majority, and, 
with one voice, we respectfully but earnestly recom- 
mend to our fellow citizens the adoption of the Con- 
stitution which we have the honor to submit. 

In establishing a boundary for the State, the con- 
vention conformed, as near as was deemed practicable 
and expedient, to great natural landmarks, so as to 
bring into a union all those who should be included by 
mutual interest, mutual wants, and mutual dependence. 
No portion of territory is included, the inhabitants of 
which were not or might not have been legitimately 
represented in the convention, under the authority by 
which it was convened ; and in unanimously resolving 
to exclude slavery from the State of California, the 
great principle has been maintained, that to the people 
of each State and Territory, alone, belongs the right 
to establish such municipal regulations, and to decide 
such questions as affect their own peace, prosperity 
and happiness. 

A free people, in the enjoyment of an elective 
government, capable of securing their civil, religious, 
and political rights, may rest assured these inestimable 
privileges can never be wrested from them, so long as 
they keep a watchful eye on the operations of their 
government, and hold to strict accountability those to 
whom power is delegated. No people were ever yet 
enslaved, who knew and dared maintain the co-relative 
rights and obligations of free and independent citizens. 
A knowledge of the laws — their moral force and effi- 
cacy, thus becomes an essential element of freedom. 



338 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

and makes public education of primary importance. 
In this view, the Constitution of California provides 
for, and guarantees in the most ample manner, the 
establishment of common schools, seminaries and col- 
leges, so as to extend the blessings of education 
throughout the land, and secure its advantages to the 
present and future generations. Under the peculiar 
circumstances in which California becomes a State — 
with an unexampled increase of a population coming 
from every part of the world, speaking various lan- 
guages, and imbued with different feelings and preju- 
dices, no form of government, no system of laws, can 
be expected to meet with immediate and unanimous 
assent. It is to be remembered, moreover, that a con- 
siderable portion of our fellow-citizens are natives of 
Old Spain, Californians, and those who have volun- 
tarily relinquished the rights of Mexicans to enjoy 
those of American citizens. Long accustomed to a 
different form of government, regarding the rights of 
person and of property as interwoven with ancient 
usages and time-honored customs, they may not at 
once see the advantages of the proposed new govern- 
ment, or yield an immediate approval of new laws, 
however salutary their provisions, or conducive to the 
general welfare. But it is confidently believed, when 
the government as now proposed shall have gone into 
successful operation, when each department thereof 
shall move on harmoniously in its appropriate and 
respective sphere, when laws, based on the eternal 
principles of equity and justice, shall be established, 
when every citizen of California, shall find himself 
secure in life, liberty, and property — all will unite in 
the cordial support of institutions, which are not only 
the pride and boast of every true-hearted citizen of the 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 339 

Union, but have gone forth, a guiding light to every 
people groping through the gloom of religious super- 
stition or political fanaticism — institutions, which even 
now, while all Europe is agitated with the convulsive 
efforts of nations battling for liberty, have become the 
mark and model of government for every people who 
would hold themselves free, sovereign, and independent. 

With this brief exposition of the views and opinions 
of the convention, the undersigned submit the Constitu- 
tion and plan of government for your approval. They 
earnestly recommend it to your calm and deliberate 
consideration, and especially do they most respectfully 
urge on every voter to attend the polls. 

The putting into operation of a government which 
shall establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, 
promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings 
of civil, religious, and political liberty, should be an 
object of the deepest solicitude to every true-hearted 
citizen, and the' consummation of his dearest wishes. 
The price of liberty is eternal vigilance, and thus it is 
not only the privilege but the duty of every voter to 
vote his sentiments. No freeman of this land who 
values his birthright, and would transmit unimpaired 
to his children an inheritance so rich in glory and 
honor, will refuse to give one day to the service of 
his country. Let every qualified voter go early to 
the polls, and give his free vote at the election ap- 
pointed to be held on Tuesday, the 13th day of Novem- 
ber next, not only that a full and fair expression of 
the public voice may be had, for or against a constitu- 
tion intended to secure the peace, happiness and 
prosperity of the whole people, but that their numeri- 
cal and political strength may be made manifest, and 
the world see by what majority of freemen California, 



340 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 



the bright star of the West, claims a place in th« 
iiadem of that glorious republic, formed by the Union 
of thirty-one sovereign States. 
(Signed) 



Joseph Aram, 
Chas. T. Botts, 
Elam Brown, 
Jose Anto. Garillo, 
Jose M. Covarrubias, 
Elisha 0. Crosby, 
Lewis Dent, 
Manuel Dominguez, 
K. H. Dimmick, 
A. J. Ellis, 
Stephen G. Foster, 
Pablo De La Guerra, 
Benj. S. Lippincott, 
M. M. McCarver, 
John McDougal, 
Benj. F. Moore, 
Myron Norton, 
P. Ord, 

Miguel De Pedrorena, 
Rodman M. Price, 
Antonio M. Pico, 
Jacinto Rodrigues, 
Hugh Reed, 
John A Sutter, 



Edw. Gilbert, 
Wm. M. Gwin, 
Julian Hanks, 
Henry Hill, 
J. D. Hoppe, 
Joseph Hobson, 
H. W. Halleck, 
L. W. Hastings, 
J. McH. Hollingswortb 3 
Jas. McHall Jones, 
Thomas 0. Larkin, 
Francis J. Lippitt, 
Jacob R. Snyder, 
W. Scott Sherwood, 
Wm. C. Shannon, 
Pedro Sansevain, 
Abel Stearns, 
W. M. Steuart, 
R. Semple, 
Henry A Tefft, 
M. G. Yallejo, 
Thos. L. Vermule, 
Joel P. Walker, 
0. M. Wozencraft. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 341 



MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED 
STATES, 

Transmitting information in answer to a resolution of the House 
of the %\st of December, 1849, on the subject of California and 
New Mexico. 

To the House of Representatives of the 
United States. — I transmit to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, in answer to a resolution of that body 
passed on the 31st of December last, the accompany- 
ing reports of heads of departments, which contain 
all the official information in the possession of the 
Executive asked for by the resolution. 

On coming into office, I found the military com- 
mandant of the department of California exercising 
the functions of civil governor in that Territory ; and 
left, as I was, to act under the treaty of Guada- 
lupe Hidalgo, without the aid of any legislative pro- 
vision establishing a government in that Territory, I 
thought it not best to disturb that arrangement, made 
under my predecessor, until Congress should take 
some action on that subject. I therefore did not 
interfere with the powers of the military commandant, 
who continued to exercise the functions of civil 
governor as before ; but I made no such appointment, 
conferred no such authority, and have allowed no 
increased compensation to the commandant for his 
services. 

With a view to the faithful execution of the treaty, 
so far as lay in the power of the Executive, and to 

enable Congress to act, at the present session, with aa 

24 



34:2 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA 

full knowledge and as little difficulty as possible, on 
all matters of interest in these Territories, I sent the 
honorable Thomas Butler King as bearer of despatches 
to California, and certain officers to California and 
New Mexico, whose duties are particularly defined in 
the accompanying letters of instruction addressed to 
them severally by the proper departments. 

I did not hesitate to express to the people of those 
Territories my desire that each Territory should, if 
prepared to comply with the requisitions of the Consti- 
tution of the United States, form a plan of a State 
Constitution and submit the same to Congress, with a 
prayer for admission into the Union as a State ; but I 
did not anticipate, suggest, or authorize the establish- 
ment of any such government without the assent of 
Congress ; nor did I authorize any government agent 
or officer to interfere with or exercise any influence or 
control over the election of delegates, or oyer any 
convention, in making or modifying their domestic 
institutions, or any of the provisions of their proposed 
Constitution. On the contrary, the instructions given 
by my orders were, that all measures of domestic 
policy adopted by the people of California must 
originate solely with themselves ; that while the Exe- 
cutive of the United States was desirous to protect 
them in the formation of any government republican 
in its character, to be at the proper time, submitted 
to Congress, yet it was to be distinctly understood 
that the plan of such a government must, at the same 
time, be the result of their own deliberate choice, and 
originate with themselves, without the interference of 
the Executive. 

I am unable to give any information as to laws 
passed by any supposed government in California, or 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 343 

of any census taken in either of the Territories men- 
tioned in the resolution, as I have no information on 
those subjects. 

As already stated, I have not disturbed the ar- 
rangements which I found had existed under my 
predecessor. 

In advising an early application by the people of 
these Territories for admission as States, I was actu- 
ated principally by an earnest desire to afford to the 
wisdom and patriotism of Congress the opportunity 
of avoiding occasions of bitter and angry dissensions 
among the people of the United States. 

Under the Constitution, every State has the right 
of establishing, and, from time to time, altering its 
municipal laws and domestic institutions, independent- 
ly of every other State and of the general govern- 
ment ; subject only to the prohibitions and guaranties 
expressly set forth in the Constitution of the United 
States. The subjects thus left exclusively to the 
respective States were not designed or expected to 
become topics of national agitation. Still, as, under 
the Constitution, Congress has power to make all 
needful rules and regulations respecting the Territories 
of the United States, every new acquisition of terri- 
tory has led to discussions on the question whether 
the system of involuntary servitude which prevails in 
many of the States should or should not be prohibited 
in that Territory. The periods of excitement from 
this cause which have heretofore occurred have been 
safely passed ; but during the interval, of whatever 
length, which may elapse before the admission of the 
Territories ceded by Mexico as States, it appears 
probable that similar excitement will prevail to an 

undue extent. 

T 



344 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

Under these circumstances, I thought, and still 
think, that it was my duty to endeavor to put it in 
the power of Congress, by the admission of California 
and New Mexico as States, to remove all occasion for 
the unnecessary agitation of the public mind. 

It is understood that the people of the western part 
of California have formed a plan of a State Constitu- 
tion, and will soon submit the same to the judgment 
of Congress, and apply for admission as a State. 
This course on their part, though in accordance with, 
was not adopted exclusively in consequence of, 
any expression of my wishes inasmuch as measures 
tending to this end had been promoted by the officers 
sent there by my predecessor, and were already in 
active progress of execution before any communica- 
tion from me reached California. If the proposed 
Constitution shall, when submitted to Congress, be 
found to be in compliance with the requisitions of the 
Constitution of the United States, I earnestly recom- 
mend that it may receive the sanction of Congress. 

The part of California not included in the proposed 
State of that name is believed to be uninhabited, ex- 
cept in a settlement of our countrymen in the vicinity 
of Salt Lake. 

A claim has been advanced by the State of Texas 
to a very large portion of the most populous district 
of New Mexico. If the people of New Mexico had 
formed a plan of a State government for that Terri- 
tory as ceded by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 
and had been admitted by Congress as a State, our 
Constitution would have afforded the means of obtain- 
ing an adjustment of the question of boundary with 
Texas by a judicial decision. At present, however, 
no judicial tribunal has the power of deciding that 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 345 

juestion, and it remains for Congress to devise some 
mode for its adjustment. Meanwhile, T submit to Con- 
gress the question whether it would be expedient, 
before sueh adjustment, to establish a territorial 
government, which, by including the district so 
claimed, would practically decide the question ad- 
versely to the State of Texas, or, by excluding it, 
would decide it in her favor. In my opinion, such a 
course would not be expedient, especially as the peo- 
ple of this Territory still enjoy the benefit and pro- 
tection of their municipal laws, originally derived 
from Mexico, and have a military force stationed 
there to protect them against the Indians. It is un- 
doubtedly true that the property, lives, liberties, and 
religion of the people of New Mexico are better pro- 
tected than they ever were before the treaty of cession, 
Should Congress, when California shall present her- 
self for incorporation into the Union, annex a condi- 
tion to her admission as a State affecting her domes- 
tic institutions, contrary to the wishes of her people, 
and even compel her temporarily, to comply with it, 
yet the State, could change her Constitution at any 
time after admission, when to her it should seem 
expedient. Any attempt to deny to the people of the 
State the right of self-government, in a matter which 
peculiarly affects themselves, will infallibly be re- 
garded by them as an invasion of their rights ; and, 
upun the principles laid down in our own Declaration 
of Independence, they will certainly be sustained by 
the **eat mass of the American people. To assert 
that they are a conquered people, and must, as a 
State, submit to the will of their conquerors in this 
regard, will meet with no cordial response among 
Amer'can freemen. Great numbers of them are na- 



346 HISTOEY OF CALIFORNIA. 

tive * itlzens of the United States not inferior to the 
rest t-f our countrymen in intelligence and patriotism ; 
and no language of menace, to restrain them in the 
exercise of an undoubted right, guarantied to them 
by the treaty of cession itself, shall ever be uttered 
by me, or encouraged and sustained by persons acting 
under my authority. It is to be expected that, in the 
residue of the Territory ceded to us by Mexico, the 
people residing there will, at the time of their incor- 
poration into the Union as a State, settle all questions 
of domestic policy to suit themselves. No material 
inconvenience will result from the want, for a short 
period, of a government established by Congress over 
that part of the Territory which lies eastward of the 
new State of California; and the reasons for my 
opinion that New Mexico will, at no very distant pe- 
riod, ask for admission into the Union, are founded on 
un-official information, which, I suppose, is common to 
all who have cared to make inquiries on that subject. 
Seeing, then, that the question which now excites 
such painful sensations in the country will, in the end, 
certainly be settled by the silent effect of causes inde- 
pendent of the action of Congress, I again submit to 
your wisdom the policy recommended in my annual 
message, of awaiting the salutary operation of those 
causes, believing that we shall thus avoid the creation 
of geographical parties, and secure the harmony of 
feeling so necessary to the beneficial action of our 
political system. Connected as the Union is with the 
remembrance of past happiness, the sense of present 
blessings, and the hope of future peace and prosperity, 
every dictate of wisdom, every feeling of duty, and 
every emotion of patriotism, tend to inspire fidelity 
and devotion to it, and admonish us cautiously to avoid 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 347 

any unnecessary controversy which can either en- 
danger it or impair its strength, the chief element of 
which is to be found in the regard and affection of thfl 
people for each other. 

Z. TAYLOR. 
Washington City, D. C, January 21st, 1850. 



D. 

Executive Department of California, 

Monterey, August 30, 1849. 

General : — I have the honor to transmit, herewith, 
copies of civil papers and letters issued by me since 
my despatch of June 30, and to continue my report 
on the civil affairs of this country from this date. 

Accompanied by Captain Halleck, Secretary of 
State for California, and Major Canby, Captain Wes- 
cott, and Lieutenant Derby, of my military staff, I 
left this place on the 5th July for the purpose of in- 
specting the military posts in the interior, and of 
learning from personal observation the actual state 
of affairs in the mineral regions, and also of allaying, 
so far as I could, the hostile feeling which was said to 
exist between the Americans and foreigners who were 
working in the gold placers. My report on the state 
of the troops and a more detailed account of my tour 
will be forwarded with my military papers. 

Passing the mission of San Juan Bautista, we 
crossed the coast range of mountains near the ranche 
of Senor Pacheco, and struck the San Joaquin River 
near the mouth of the Merced; and, after visiting 
Major Miller's camp on the Stanislaus, we proceeded 
to examine the principal placers on the tributaries of 



348 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

that river and of the Tuolumne. These washings or 
diggings have been among the richest and most pro* 
ductive in California. 

They are situated within a circuit of some twelve 
or fifteen miles, and are known as Jamestown, Wood's 
Creek, Sonoranian Camp, Sullivan's Creek, Curtis's 
Creek, French Creek, Carson's Creek, and Angelo 
Creek. Some of these have become places of consi- 
derable business, particularly the Sonoranian Camp, 
which presents the appearance of a city of canvas houses. 

Passing the Stanislaus River in the mountains, we 
proceeded to Major Kingsbury's camp near the mouth 
of the American River, crossing in our route the 
Calaveras, Moquelume, Seco, and Cosumnes Rivers ; 
all of which have rich washings near their sources, 
and on their bars and islands. From Major Kings 
bury's camp we ascended the American River to Cul* 
lamo Hills, where the first placer was discovered by 
Captain Sutter's employees in the spring of 1848. 
From Cullamo we crossed the country to Stockton, a 
new town on an estero some distance above the mouth 
of the San Joaquin, and thence proceeded to Colonel 
Cazey's camp at the straits of Carquinnes; returning 
via San Francisco to Monterey, which place w@ 
reached on the afternoon of the 9th instant. 

We found the country at this season dry and 
parched by the sun, the heat of which became very- 
great the moment we crossed the coast range of moun- 
tains. The thermometer ranges as high as 118° Fah. 
in the shade, and above 140° Fah. in the sun. A 
great portion of the valley of the Joaquin is so barren 
as scarcely to aiford subsistence for our animals, and 
can never be of much value for agricultural purposes. 
There, however, is, some excellent land on the east 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 319 

Bide of that river, bordering its large tributaries. A 

considerable portion of the valleys of the Moquelume, 
Seco, Cosumnes, and American Rivers is also well 
adapted to agriculture ; and the broad plains lying 
between them furnish abundant pasture for raising 
stock. But the amount of good arable land, as com- 
pared with the extent of country which we passed" 
over, is small, and I am inclined to believe that the 
richness and extreme fertility of certain localities 
have led to erroneous conclusions respecting the 
general character of the country. Certain it is, that 
while there may be found sufficient arable lands to 
support, if well cultivated, a numerous population, 
here is also a very great extent of rough and moun- 
tainous country and sandy and barren plains which 
are of little value. The great difficulty to be en- 
countered in agricultural pursuits in some portions of 
California is the want of water for irrigation ; but 
possibly this difficulty may be overcome in part hy 
resorting to artesian wells. If so, much of the public 
land which is now unsaleable may be brought into 
market, and the settlement of the country greatly ac- 
celerated. I would, therefore, suggest whether it 
may not be advisable for our government to direct 
some experiments to be made at the public expense in 
sinking wells of this character, for even if unsuccess- 
ful as a means of irrigation, their construction will 
greatly assist in determining the geological character 
of the country. At present nearly all agricultural 
labors are suspended in the general scramble for gold ; 
but the enormous prices paid for fruit and vegetables 
in the towns will undoubtedly induce many, during 
the coming year, to turn their attention to the cultiva- 
tion of the soil. The failure on the paH of Congress, 



350 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

at its last session, to authorize the sale of public lands 
in California, has proved detrimental to the agricul- 
tural interest of the country. 

A large number of those who have recently emi- 
grated to California are desirous to locate themselves 
permanently in the country, and to cultivate the soil, 
but the uncertainty which exists with respect to the 
Validity of land titles in California, and to what actu- 
ally constitutes the public domain, serves as a serious 
check to the forming of new agricultural settlements ; 
moreover, speculators are purchasing up fraudulent 
and invalid titles to large tracts of the public domain, 
and selling them off in parcels, and at enormous profits, 
to those who have recently arrived in the country, and 
who are necessarily ignorant of the real state of the 
case. All the mission lands in California were secu- 
larized, or made government property, by a law of 
Mexico, dated August 17th, 1833, and the territorial 
government of California, under the authority of the 
Mexican laws, leased and sold a portion of these lands 
and mission property. Another portion of this pro- 
perty, however, still remained unsold when the Ameri- 
cans took possession of the country, and it has since 
been left in the hands of government agents for pre- 
servation. Erroneously supposing that these lands are 
subject to pre-emption laws, some of the recent emi- 
grants have attempted to settle upon them. 

But I cannot deem myself justifiable in permitting 
this, for I do not conceive that lands which have been 
under cultivation for half a century, and now belong 
to government, can be subject to the pre-emption 
claims of private individuals, in the same manner as 
the uncultivated lands of the public domain. It is, 
however, important for the interest of the country thai 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 351 

these mission lands be brought into market with the 
least possible delay, and also that provision be made 
by law for the settlement and sale of other public lands 
in California. And as disputes are almost daily occur- 
ring between individuals respecting the extent of 
their several claims, and the validity of their titles, 1 
would urge upon our government the necessity of 
immediately taking measures for the speedy and final 
settlement of these titles upon principles of equity and 
justice. This is absolutely essential for the peace 
and prosperity of the country. 

For information connected with this subject, I beg 
leave to call attention, to the report of Gaptain Hal- 
leck, Secretary of State for California, which was 
forwarded to Washington by my predecessor, in the 
early part of April last. 

Before leaving Monterey I heard numerous rumors 
of irregularities and crimes among those working in 
the placers ; but, on visiting the mining regions, I 
was agreeably surprised to learn that every thing was 
quite the reverse from what had been represented, 
and that order and regularity were preserved through- 
out almost the entire extent of the mineral districts. 
In each little settlement, or tented town, the miners 
have elected their local alcaldes and constables, whose 
judicial decisions and official acts are sustained by the 
people, and enforced with much regularity and energy. 
It is true, that in a few instances certain local ques- 
tions have produced temporary excitements and diffi- 
culties, but none of these have been of a very important 
character, or led to serious results. Alcaldes have 
probably in some cases, and under peculiar circum- 
stances, exercised judicial powers which were never 
conferred upon them by law ; but the general result 
T* 30 



352 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

has been favorable to the preservation of order and 
the dispensation of justice. 

The old placers are still exceedingly productive, and 
new ones are almost daily discovered in the smaller 
streams running from the western slope of the Sierra 
Nevada into the great valleys of the Sacramento and 
San Joaquin Rivers. 

I am satisfied, however, from personal observation, 
that very exaggerated accounts have been sent to 
the United States respecting the ease with which the 
precious metal is extracted from the earth, and that 
many who come to this country with the expectation 
of acquiring sudden wealth, with little or no labor, will 
be sadly disappointed. It is true that the reward of 
labor in the mines is very high ; but it should not be 
forgotten that gold digging and gold washing in that 
climate require strong constitutions and great physical 
exertions, and very few need expect to acquire for- 
tunes by working the placers, without severe labor 
and fixed habits of industry and temperance. The 
yield of different localities is, of course, very different, 
some of the placers being exceedingly rich, while the 
product of others is scarcely sufficient to pay the 
expenses of working. But I think the general averages 
per diem, for those actually employed in washing for 
gold, will not vary much from an ounce or an ounce 
and a half per man ; some make much more than that 
sum, while those who are less fortunate fall much short 
of it. The actual number of persons working the 
'placers will not vary much from ten thousand. The 
entire population now in the mining district is much 
greater than that number ; but many are engaged in 
mercantile pursuits and in transporting goods and 
provisions, while others employ much of their time in 



. HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 353 

"prospecting," or looking for newer and richer locali- 
ties. 

I also found that the reports which had reached mo 
of hostilities between Americans and foreigners, in 
the mining districts, were greatly exaggerated, and 
that, with a few individual exceptions, every thing had 
remained quiet and orderly. In some of the northern 
placers a party of Americans and Europeans, urged 
on by political aspirants, who seem willing to endanger 
the peace and tranquillity of the country, in order to 
promote their own personal interest, have assumed the 
authority to order all Mexicans and South Americans 
from that part of the territory. Their orders were 
quietly submitted to by the foreigners, a portion of 
whom removed to the mines further south, where the 
American population manifested a very decided dispo- 
sition to afford them protection should they be further 
molested. The more intelligent and thinking portion 
of Americans regard this measure as illegal and inju- 
dicious, and will discountenance any repetition of 
movements so well calculated to disturb the public 
tranquillity, and to create bitter and exasperated feel- 
ings, where it is evidently our policy to cultivate those 
of the most friendly character. Some of the English, 
Irish, and German emigrants, in the northern placers, 
assisted in this movement against the Mexicans, Peru- 
vians, and Chilians, and probably exerted themselves 
much more than any of our own citizens to create a 
prejudice and excitement against the Spanish race. 
They were probably actuated by pecuniary interest. 
The great influx of people from the southern portion 
of this continent was diminishing the price of labor in 
the towns near the northern rivers, and the large 
number of pack animals brought from Lower Califor- 



354 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

nia and Sonora was producing a corresponding reduc- 
tion in the expenses of transportation. 

For example, the price of a pack mule in some 
parts of the mining districts a few months ago was 
about $500, whereas they can now be purchased for 
less than §150. The cost of transportation from the 
principal landing on the San Joaquin River to the 
Sonoranian camp was $75 per hundred, whereas at the 
present time it is only about $7. 

This has reduced the prices of provisions in the 
placers one and two hundred per cent. Some of the 
merchants who had large stocks of goods in the mines, 
and those who were engaged in transportation at the 
prices formerly paid, have suffered by the change, 
and it is natural that they should feel incensed against 
that class of foreigners who have contributed most to 
effect it. 

But it is thought by others that the great majority 
->f the laborers and consumers in the mining districts 
Uave been benefited by this change, and that it would 
be injurious to the prosperity of the country to restore 
things to their former state by the expulsion and pro- 
hibition of foreigners from the mines. 

Americans, by their superior intelligence and 
shrewdness in business, generally contrive to turn to 
their own benefit the earnings of the Mexicans, 
Chilians, and Peruvians in this country, and any 
measure of exclusiveness which is calculated to diminish 
the productive labor of California would be of exceed- 
ingly doubtful policy. 

When applied to by the different parties for my 
opinion on the question of expelling foreigners, I have 
uniformly told them that no persons, native Americans 
or foreigners, have any legal right to dig gold in tha 



HISTORY OJB' CALIFOllNIA. 355 

public lands ; but that, until the government of the 
United Spates should act in the matter, they would 
not be molested in their pursuits ; that I could not 
countenance any class of men in their attempts to 
monopolize the working of the mines, and that all 
questions touching the temporary right of individuals 
to work in particular localities, of which they were in 
actual possession, should be left to the decision of the 
local judicial authorities. 

I cannot close my remarks on this subject without 
again calling the attention of government to the 
importance of establishing a mint in California at the 
earliest moment. 

This measure is called for by every consideration 
of natural policy and of justice to the mercantile 
mining population of California. 

General Kearny, during his administration of affairs 
in this country, appointed, by virtue of his authority 
as governor of California, two sub-Indian agents, who 
have ever since been continued in office, and their 
services found of great utility in preserving harmony 
among the wild tribes, and in regulating their inter- 
course with the whites. 

They have been paid from the " civil fund" very 
moderate salaries, which will be continued until arri- 
vals of agents regularly appointed by the general 
government. Notwithstanding every effort on the 
part of those agents and of the officers of the army 
here, it has not been possible at all times to prevent 
aggression on the part of the whites, or to restrain 
the Indians from avenging these injuries in their own 
way. 

In the month of April last, the agent in the Sacra- 
mento valley reported that a body of Oregonians and 



356 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

mountaineers had committed most horrible barbarities 
on the defenceless Indians in that vicinity. m 

Those cruel and inhuman proceedings, added, per- 
haps, to the execution of a number of chiefs some year 
and a half since by a military force sent into the San 
Joaquin valley by my predecessor, (the facts of which 
were reported to Washington at the time,) have neces- 
sarily produced a hostile feeling on the part of the 
natives, and several small parties of whites, who, in 
their pursuit of gold, ventured too far into the Indian 
country, have been killed. 

My correspondence with the Indian agents and 
military officers established in the Sacramento and 
San Joaquin valleys will inform you of the measures 
taken to prevent a repetition of these difficulties. 

I would respectfully recommend that at least three 
sub-Indian agents be appointed for this country, and 
stationed in the valleys of the Sacramento and San 
Joaquin. 

These agents should receive ample pay in order to 
enable them to defray the expenses of living in that 
part of the country, and should be men of the highest 
moral character ; for otherwise they would not resist 
the temptation to engage in illicit trade with the 
natives, or to employ them for the individual benefit" 
of the agents in washing for gold. 

The election called by me for the 1st instant was 
held on that day, and has been attended with the 
most happy results. 

Every district has elected its local officers, and 
appointed delegates to meet in general convention at 
this place on the 1st proximo, to form a State Con- 
stitution or plan of territorial government, which will 
be submitted to the people for their ratification, and 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. .V>7 

transmitted to Washington for the action of Con- 
gress. 

Most of the local and judicial officers named in my 
proclamation of the 3d of June, have already entered 
upon their duties, and the interest which was taken 
by the people in every part of the country in this 
election, and the zeal manifested by those elected and 
appointed to office, afford strong hopes that the exist- 
ing government will be able to preserve order and 
secure the administration of justice until a new one 
shall be put into regular and successful operation. 

In my former despatch I mentioned that the civil 
officers of the existing government would be paid their 
regular salaries from the "civil funds," which had 
been formed, under the direction of the governor of 
California, mainly out of the proceeds of the temporary 
custom-houses established by my predecessors on this 
coast. 

It will also be necessary to use a portion of this 
fund in the immediate construction of jails for the 
security of civil prisoners. 

The want of such jails has already led to the most 
serious inconveniencies ; prisoners have so frequently 
effected their escape, that, on several occasions, the 
people have risen in masses and executed criminals 
immediately after trial, and without waiting for the 
due fulfilment of all the requisitions of the laws. 

In many cases it has been found necessary to confine 
civil prisoners on board vessels of war, and in the 
guard-houses of the garrison ; but in towns, at a dis- 
tance from the coast and the military posts, the diffi- 
culty of retaining prisoners in custody has led, in SDme 
instances, to immediate and summary executions. 
This evil calls for an immediate remedy, which wiP 
25 



358 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

be afforded, so far as the means at my disposal "will 
admit. 

I beg leave, in this place, to add a few remarks on 
the use which has been, and will continue to be, made 
of this " civil fund." 

In the instructions from Washington to General 
Kearny, in 1846, for his guidance in California, the 
establishment of port regulations on this coast was 
assigned to the commander of the Pacific squadron, 
while it was said " the appointment of temporary col- 
lectors at the several ports appertains to the civil 
governor of the province." 

It was also directed that the duties at the custom- 
houses be used for the support of the necessary 
officers of the civil government. This division of 
duties, and this disposition of the proceeds of the 
customs were continued during the whole war. 

On the receipt of the Treasury Department regu- 
lations respecting the collection of military contri- 
butions in Mexico, officers of the army and navy 
were made collectors at some of the ports, but at 
others the civil collectors appointed by the Governor 
of California were retained. 

At the close of the war, Governor Mason, for rea- 
sons already communicated, determined to continue 
the collection of revenue in the country, on the au- 
thority which had previously been given to him, until 
Congress should act in the matter, or orders to the 
contrary be received from Washington. He, there- 
fore, as governor of California, again appointed civil 
collectors in the ports where nilitary officers had tem- 
porarily performed those duties, and collected the 
customs on all foreign goods, in accordance with the 
provisions of the tariff of 1846, while the commander 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 359 

of the Pacific squadron continued the direction of 
all matters relating to port regulations. A double 
necessity impelled the governor to this course. The 
country was in pressing need of these foreign goods, 
and Congress had established no port of entry on this 
coast. The want of a more complete organization of 
the existing civil government was daily increasing, and, 
as Congress had made no provisions for supporting a 
government in this country, it was absolutely necessary 
to create a fund for that purpose from the duties col- 
lected on these foreign goods. It is true that there 
were no laws authorizing the collection of these 
duties; but at the same time the laws forbade the 
landing of the goods till the duties ivere paid. Gov- 
ernor Mason, therefore, had no alternative but to 
pursue the course which he adopted. He immediately 
communicated to Washington his action in the case ; 
and as the receipt of his despatch was acknowledged 
without any dissent being expressed, it must be pre- 
sumed that his course met the approbation of the 
government. When I assumed command in this 
country as civil governor, I was directed to receive 
these communications and instructions from Governor 
Mason, for my guidance in the administration of the 
civil affairs of this Territory. I have accordingly 
continued the collection of the revenue, and added 
the proceeds to the " civil fund," using that fund for 
the necessary expenses of the civil government. The 
expenses of employing civil officers in this country 
are very great ; and as I have no authority to lay 
taxes, this fund forms my only means of carrying on 
the government. The necessity of employing these 
officers, and of paying them the full salaries authorized 
by law under the existing state of affairs, is too ob« 



S60 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

vioufi to require comment. I have pledged myself tc 
pay these salaries from the " civil fund," unless for- 
bidden to do so by direct orders from Washington ; 
and that pledge will be fulfilled. This " civil fund" 
was commenced in the early part of 1847, and has 
been formed and used in the manner pointed out in 
the early instructions to the governor of the Terri- 
tory. This money has been collected and disbursed 
by the " Governor of California" and by those ap- 
pointed by him in virtue of his office. He is, there- 
fore, the person responsible for this money, both to 
the government and to the parties from whom it is 
collected, and it can be expended only on his orders. 
None of the military departments of the army, nor 
any army officer simply in virtue of his commission, 
can have any control, direct or indirect, over it. It is 
true that some of this money has, from time to time, as 
the wants of the service required, been transferred to 
the different military departments ; but this transfer 
was in the form of a loan, and the money so trans- 
ferred will be returned to the " civil fund" as soon as 
arrangements can be made for that purpose. The in- 
creased expenditures for the support of the existing 
government will soon render the restoration absolutely 
necessary ; especially as the transfer of the custom- 
houses to the regular collectors appointed by the 
general government, will now cut off all further means 
of supplying the civil treasury. These collectors have 
not yet arrived, but are daily expected. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

BENKET RILEY, 
Brevet Brig. Gen. U. S. Army, 

and Governor of California. 

Major-General R. Jones, 

Adjutant-General of the Army, Washington, D. O. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 3G1 

The following official despatch of General Persifor 
F. Smith, contains an opinion of the position of San 
Francisco totally different from that of the numerous 
California tourists. It is a valuable opinion, never- 
theless, and led to the selection of the town of Benicia, 
on the Straits of Karquinez, as a military and naval 
station. 

Headquarters Third Division, 
San Francisco, April 5, 1849. 

General : — Since my last communication no troops 
have arrived to change the strength of the force here ; 
but the steam transport Edith arrived on the 21st of 
March, and reports that the transports Iowa and 
Massachusetts, the former having General Riley w T ith 
a part of the 2d infantry, and the latter having the 
command of artillery for Oregon on board, left Val- 
paraiso about the 8th of February. The former is 
expected here every day, and the Edith is held in 
readiness to convey the troops south to the position 
they are to occupy. 

There will be great difficulty in establishing and 
maintaining a post at the mouth of the Gila, 
until more knowledge is acquired of the naviga- 
tion of the head of the gulf of California and the 
lower part of the Colorado. Transportation by land 
from San Diego is impossible for large quantities 
of stores. 

In the gulf, the winds blow in the winter almost 
invariably from the northward ; and in the summer, 
when they come occasionally from southward, it 
is in violent gales, with severe squalls and thun- 
der, rendering it very dangerous to be in the 
gulf then. In other words, it is always difficult to 



362 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

run up the gulf, but almost always easy to ran south. 
These circumstances render the employment of steam 
vessels very advantageous. If the navigation of the 
gulf permits the Edith to be used she will answer, 
having both sails and steam. If sue draws too much 
water, others of lighter draught could be procured. 
I mention this now, as the boundary commission will 
commence their labors on this end of the line, and 
will be on the Gila next season. I should have ob- 
served that the Colorado is supposed to be navigable 
only for boats drawing three or four feet. 

I see no reason for posting troops on any other 
point out of reach of the ports on the Pacific. The 
Indians in the interior do not make it necessary, and 
it would be useless to place them near the mines to 
maintain order there. Nothing but the establishment 
of a regular civil government, to be carried on by 
those most interested in the existence of good order, 
will answer that end. 

Such detachments as go to the southern part of the 
Territory will accordingly be placed, as heretofore 
mentioned, in healthy and convenient positions, and 
those on this bay at such points as will combine good 
climate, convenience of supply, and facility of move- 
ment. I propose, when such a point is found, to have 
removed all the public stores there, both from this 
place and Monterey, leaving the heavy ordnance and 
stores. 

The town of San Francisco is no way fitted for 
military or commercial purposes ; there is no harbor, 
a bad landing-place, bad water, no supplies of pro- 
visions, an inclement climate, and it is cut off from 
the rest of the country, except by a long circuit 
around the southern extremity of the bay. In time 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 3fi3 

of war, enemies' troops could be landed for many 
miles south of the entrance of the bay on the sea 
beach, and thus cut it off by a short line across the 
peninsula on which it stands. There are points on 
the bay, more inland, having good harbors and land- 
ings, good water, and open to the whole country in 
rear, and accessible without difficulty to ships of the 
largest class. One of these should be the point at 
which the future depots should be established ; and I 
propose to go to-morrow in the Edith, in company with 
Commodore Jones and other officers of the army and 
navy, to examine tbe straits of Karquinez, said to 
combine most advantages. I hope to return and 
report the result of our examination before the next 
mail boat leaves, (on Monday, 9th,) but at any rate 
by the succeeding boat, a few days afterwards. 

I hope that in fixing the port of entry, capital, or 
other public places, the law will leave to the President 
the selection; otherwise, private interests already 
involved in speculation here, will, by misrepresenta- 
tion, lead to a very bad choice. 

If Congress has not provided by law for the govern- 
ment of this Territory, or its admission as a State, I 
would be very glad that the government would official- 
ly promulgate its views as to the civil authority now 
exercised here. Some important questions of law, 
involving both life and property, are now depending ; 
and judges and jurors, without experience in these 
difficult questions, are called upon to act under great 
responsibility. 

It appears to be the opinion of merchants in many 
of the ports of the Pacific — and they allege in sup- 
port of it the advice of some of our consuls — that in 
virtue of the circular of the Secretary of the Treasury 



ZCA HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

of October 30, as the Treasury Department could not 
collect duties on imports in California, their goods, 
though dutiable, could be imported without paying 
duty. I have held that this was not the construction 
proper to be given to the circular, but only that the 
law had not provided the means of collecting duties 
here, that law being still in force which prohibits cer- 
tain goods being introduced into the United States, 
unless they pay duties as prescribed ; that conse- 
quently no dutiable goods can be landed in California 
unless they shall have paid their duties elsewhere — the 
effect of which would be, that they could not be ad- 
mitted at all from foreign ports. 

Under the circumstances, which showed a very hard 
case, I thought it proper that the parties should be 
allowed to deposit the amount of duties and land the 
goods ; but, lest this should be construed as giving 
them a right for the future, and as the president may 
think proper to put an end to this indulgence, I have 
addressed a circular to all our consuls on these seas, 
warning them of this possibility — a copy of which is 
inclosed. 

I was directed, when coming here, by the Secretary 
of War, to do all I could to facilitate the arrival of 
the civil officers of ^government in Oregon, as the 
public service required their presence there. The 
steamer in which we came here could go no farther 
north, and there was no possible way of those gentle- 
men getting there, except on a small vessel about sail- 
ing, on which there were no accommodations. 

Commodore Jones kindly sent carpenters from the 
fleet to put up some berths, and on General Adair's 
(the collector's) representation, that no bedding could 
be procured, I directed the quartermaster to issue him 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 305 

the necessary number of blankets for the voyage, and 
take his receipt for them. I respectfully ask that 
this may be approved, and the amount charged to 
General Adair. The quartermaster could not tell him 
the price of the blankets when he took them. 

As the rainy season has ended, people are again 
repairing to the mines. New discoveries farther 
south are said to have been made ; and it is now 
pretty certain that the whole slope of the Sierra Ne- 
vada, comprised within the head waters of the San 
Joaquin to the south and those of the Sacramento to 
the north, contains gold. These two rivers, forming, 
as it were, a bracket, join to enter the bay of San 
Francisco ; and their tributaries from the east, in 
their beds, expose the deposits of gold as they descend 
from the mountains. It is on the banks and branches 
of these streams that adventurers are now at work ; 
but some excavations elsewhere, to a depth equal to 
that worn by the creeks, have disclosed quantities simi- 
lar to those most generally found. There appears to 
be a line parallel to the summit of the main ridge, 
and some distance down the slope, at which the pro- 
duct of gold is at its maximum ; but whether this be 
from the quantity deposited, or from the different 
position as relates to the surface, or from the diffi- 
culty of working it, I have not the means of knowing 

The gold is found in small particles : the largest I have 
seen, but such are rare, weighs seventy-one ounces troy. 
The appearance invariably is as though it had been 
spurted up when melted through crevices and fissures 
in drops, which have often the form of the leaves and 
gravel on which they have fallen. I speak of this 
as an appearance, not as a theory or hypothesis. The 
extent ascertained within which gold is thus found is 



3G6 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

at least four hundred miles long by forty wide ; in a!* 
most every part of which, where the surface is de- 
pressed by the beds of rivers, gold has been obtained 
without digging more than ten feet below the surface, 
and very seldom that much. 

It is impossible to furnish any grounds for estima- 
ting the number A people engaged in mining, or the 
amount they have produced. Persons engaged in 
trading with the miners say they amount to about ten 
thousand, but I cannot say with what reason. They 
can better judge of the amount produced, which the 
lowest estimate places at $4,000,000. More than 
three thousand persons have been added to the miners 
up to this time, — chiefly from Mexico and South 
America. 

When the mines were first discovered, all the ports 
of South America on the Pacific, and of the Sand- 
wich islands, sent the merchandise collected and stored 
there to be sold here. They realized enormous profits, 
before any competition from our eastern States could 
meet them ; and these goods were generally owned by 
European houses, who thus became possessed of the 
first fruits of the mines, which were shipped to Eu- 
rope on their account; and it is thus that so little 
gold has reached the United States. 

When the merchandise now on its way from our At- 
lantic States arrives, and is sold, the current will set 
that way ; but the profits will be much diminished by 
competition, and still more by the enormous expenses 
here for labor, storage, &c. These are almost incredi- 
ble ; the ordinary wages for the poorest laborer is $6 
per day ; many receive $10. 

The extent and richness of the gold region have 
not been exaggerated ; and the exorbitant prices paid 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 



367 



for labor, rent, and subsistence, have hardly been 
fully Bet forth. But all the estimates of the amount 
actually produced are but mere suppositions, which 
may surpass or may fall short of the truth. 

I have already directed that the men to whom their 
commanding officers may give short leaves of absence 
may bo employed by the quartermasters at the usual 
rates here. This will be an encouragement to the 
men and an advantage to the public service, as labor 
is hard to get. But I doubt the propriety of yielding 
to the current of gold-seeking, and allowing large 
bodies of the men to go to the mines. It may be 
permitted to reward good conduct, as any other indul- 
gence is ; but to make it general, would be either to 
acknowledge the right of the men to modify their 
obligations as they please, or to confess our inability 
to enforce their fulfilment. For the sake of principle 
and preciseness, it would be better to adhere to what 
is right now, though the effect here in this particular 
instance would be the desertion of the men. 
I am, with respect, your obedient servant, 

PERSIFOR F. SMITH, 
Brevet Major-General, commanding 3d Division. 
Brigadier-General R. Jones, 

Adjutant- Q-eneraL 

U 31 



368 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

Appendix F. 

The following despatch contains instructions to Gen- 
eral Kearny concerning the conquest of California, 
contained in a despatch from the Secretary of War, 
marked confidential. But a portion of these instruc- 
tions were carried out, in consequence of the antici- 
pation of the conquest by Commodore Stockton and 
Colonel Fremont. 

[Confidential.] 

War Ijeiartment, 

Washington, June 3, 1846. 

Sir: I herew-cn send you a copy of my letter to 
the governoi oi Missouri for an additional force of 
one thousand mounted men. 

The object of thus adding to the force under your 
command is not, as you will perceive, fully set forth 
in that letter, for the reason that it is deemed prudent 
that it should not, at this time, become a matter of 
public notoriety ; but to you it is proper and neces- 
sary that it should be stated. 

It has been decided by the President to be of the 
greatest importance in the pending war with Mexico 
to take the earliest possession of Upper California. 
An expedition with that view is hereby ordered, and 
you are designated to command it. To enable you to 
be in sufficient force to conduct it successfully, this 
additional force of a thousand mounted men has been 
provided, to follow you in the direction of Santa Fe, 
to be under your orders or the officer you may leave 
in command at Santa Fe. 

It cannot be determined how far this additional 
force will be behind that designed for the Santa Fe 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. Ob\) 

expedition, but it will not probably be more tban a 
few weeks. When you arrive at Santa Fe with the 
force already called, and shall have taken possession 
of it, you may find yourselves in a condition to garri- 
son it with a small part of your command (as the 
additional force will soon be at that place), and with 
the remainder press forward to California. In that 
case you will make such arrangements as to being 
followed by the reinforcement before mentioned, as in 
your judgment may be deemed safe and prudent. I 
need not say to you that in case you conquer Santa 
Fe, (and with it will be included the department or 
state of New Mexico), it will be important to provide 
for retaining safe possession of it. Should you deem 
it prudent to have still more troops for the accom- 
plishment of the objects herein designated, you will 
lose no time in communicating your opinion on that 
point, and all others connected with the enterprise, to 
this department. Indeed, you are hereby authorized 
to make a direct requisition for it upon the governor 
of Missouri. 

It is known that a large body of Mormon emigrants 
are en route to California for the purpose of settling 
in that country. You are desired to use all proper 
means to have a good understanding with them, to 
the end that the United States may have their co- 
operation in taking possession of and holding that 
country. It has been suggested here that many of 
these Mormons would willingly enter into the service 
of the United States, and aid us in our expedition 
against California. You are hereby authorized to 
muster into service such as can be induced to volun- 
teer ; not, however, to a number exceeding one-third 
of your entire force. Should they enter the service 



370 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

they will be paid as other volunteers, and you can allow 
them to designate, so far as it can be properly done, 
the persons to act as officers thereof. It is under- 
stood that a considerable number of American citizens 
are now settled on the Sacramento River, near Suttei's 
establishment, called " Nueva Helvetia," who are 
well disposed towards the United States. Should 
you, on your arrival in the country, find this to be 
the true state of things there, you are authorized to 
organize and receive into the service of the United 
States such portion of these citizens as you may think 
aseful to aid you to hold the possession of the coun- 
try. You will in that case allow them, so far as 
you shall judge proper, to select their own offi- 
cers. A large discretionary power is invested in 
you in regard to these matters, as well as to all 
others, in relation to the expeditions confided to your 
command. 

The choice of routes by which you will enter Cali- 
fornia will be left to your better knowledge and 
ampler means of getting accurate information. We 
are assured that a southern route (called the caravan 
route, by which the wild horses are brought from that 
country into New Mexico) is practicable, and it is 
suggested as not improbable that it can be passed 
over in the winter months, or at least late in autumn. 
It is hoped that this information may prove to be 
correct. 

In regard to the routes, the practicability of pro- 
curing needful supplies for men and animals, and 
transporting baggage, is a point to be well considered. 
Should the President be disappointed in his cherished 
hope that you will be able to reach the interior of 
Upper California before winter, you are then desired 



HIPTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 371 

to make the best arrangement you can for sustaining 
your forces during the winter, and for an early move- 
ment in the spring. Though it is very desirable that 
the expedition should reach California this season, 
(and the President does not doubt you will make 
every possible effort to accomplish this object), yet 
if, in your judgment, it cannot be undertaken with 
a reasonable prospect of success, you will defer 
it, as above suggested, until spring. You are left 
unembarrassed by any specific directions in this 
matter. 

It is expected that the naval forces of the United 
States which are now, or will soon be in the Pacific, 
will be in possession of all the towns on the seacoast, 
and will co-operate with you in the conquest of Cali- 
fornia. Arms, ordnance, munitions of war, and pro- 
visions to be used in that country, will be sent by 
sea to our squadron in the Pacific for the use of the 
land forces. 

Should you conquer and take possession of New 
Mexico and Upper California, or considerable places 
in either, you will establish temporary civil govern- 
ments therein — abolishing all arbitrary restrictions 
that may exist, so far as it may be done with safety. 
In performing this duty, it would be wise and prudent 
to continue in their employment all such of the exist- 
ing officers as are known to be friendly to the United 
States, and will take the oath of allegiance to them. 
The duties at the custom-house ought at once to be 
reduced to such a rate as may be barely sufficient to 
maintain the necessary officers, without yielding any 
revenue to the government. You may assure the 
people of those provinces, that it is the wish and de- 
sign of the United States to provide for them a free 



372 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

government with the least possible delay, similar to 
that which exists in our territories. They will then 
be called on to exercise the rights of freemen in 
electing their own representatives to the territorial 
legislature. It is foreseen that what relates to the 
civil government will be a difficult and unpleasant 
part of your 'duty, and much must necessarily be left 
to your own discretion. In your whole conduct you 
will act in such a manner as best to conciliate the in- 
habitants and render them friendly to the United 
States. 

It is desirable that the usual trade between the 
citizens of the United States and the Mexican pro- 
vinces should be continued, as far as practicable, 
under the changed condition of things between the 
two countries. In consequence of extending your 
expedition into California, it may be proper that you 
should increase your supply for goods to be distributed 
as presents to the Indians. The United States super- 
intendent of Indian affairs at St. Louis will aid you 
in procuring these goods. You will be furnished with 
a proclamation in the Spanish language, to be issued 
by you and circulated among the Mexican people on 
your entering into or approaching their country. 
You will use your utmost endeavors to have the 
pledges and promises therein contained carried out to 
the utmost extent. 

I am directed by the President to say that the rank 
of brevet brigadier-general will be conferred on you 
as soon as you commence your movement towards 
California, and sent round to you by sea or over the 
country, or to the care of the commandant of our 
squadron in the Pacific. In that way cannon, arms, 



niSTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 373 

ammunition, and supplies for the land forces will be 
sent to jou. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
W. L. MARCY, 
Secretary of War. 
Colonel S. W. Kearny. 

Fort Leavenworth, Missouri. 



Appendix G. 

The particulars of the conquest of Upper Cali- 
fornia, as well as the suppression of the insurrections, 
we have already given in substance as they are in the 
despatches of General Kearny and Commodore Stock- 
ton. But we have said nothing of the transactions 
in the Peninsula, as that afterwards was surrendered 
to Mexico. All that is interesting in the conquest of 
Lower California, will be found in the following 
despatches from the commander of the New York 
regiment of volunteers, which with a number of 
marines were the only troops employed in that quar- 
ter. We premise, that, after the United States 
marines had taken San Jose", the natives rose, and 
they were reduced to the necessity of taking refuge 
in an old fort, or cuartel, in the town. 

Barracks, Lower California, 
San Jose, February 20, 1848. 
Sir : I continue my report from the 22d ultimo, 
from which time my force consisted of twenty-seven 
marines and fifteen seamen, of whom five were on the 
sick report, besides some twenty volunteers, Califor- 
nians, who at least served to swell the numbers. From 
26 



374 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

that date the enemy were continually in sight of us, 
intercepting all communication with the interior, and 
driving off all the cattle from the neighborhood. A 
party of our men who went out to endeavor to obtain 
cattle, were driven in and narrowly escaped being cut 
off. We succeeded in obtaining a few cows, however, 
which were very necessary to us in the reduced state 
of our provisions, as, in addition to our garrison, we 
were obliged, in humanity, to sustain some fifty women 
and children of the poor, who sought our protection 
in the greatest distress. I found it necessary, as 
soon as our fresh beef was consumed, to put all hands 
on half allowance of salt provisions. We had no 
bread. On the 4th of February, the enemy closed 
around us more, and commenced firing upon all who 
showed themselves at our port-holes, or above the 
parapets. On the morning of the 6th the enemy ap- 
peared to be a little scattered, a considerable force 
being seen riding about some distance from the town, 
and at the same time a strong party of them posted 
at the" lower end of the street were keeping up an 
annoying fire upon us. I judged this a favorable 
opportunity to make a sortie upon them, and taking 
twenty-five men with me, closed with them and dis- 
lodged them, driving them into the hills without the 
loss of a man on our part, and returned to the cuartel. 
On the morning of the 7th it was reported to me that 
the enemy had broken into the houses on the main 
street, and there was some property exposed which 
might be secured. I took a party of men and went 
down and brought up a number of articles belonging 
to the Californians, who were in the cuartel; some 
distant firing took place, but no injury was sustained. 
On the same day, hearing there were some stores of 



niSTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 37£ 

rice and tobacco in a house some three hundred yards 
down the main street, I determined upon an effort to 
obtain them, and sallied out with thirty men : these 
were immediately fired upon from several different 
quarters, and some fighting ensued, resulting in the 
death of one of my volunteers — shot through the 
heart. We charged down the end of the street, and 
drove the enemy to the cover of a cornfield at the 
outside of the town, where they were considerably 
reinforced, and recommenced a hot fire ; but we were 
enabled to save a part of the articles which we were 
in search of, though we found that the enemy had an- 
ticipated us in this object, having forced the building 
from the rear. On the afternoon of the following 
day, Ritchie's schooner, having provisions for us from 
La Paz, came in sight and anchored, but a canoe 
which was enticed toward the shore by a white flag 
displayed by the enemy, was fired upon, and the 
schooner immediately got under w r ay. 

On the 10th the enemy had entire possession of the 
town : they had perforated with port-holes all the ad- 
jacent houses and walls, occupying the church, and, 
hoisting their flag on Galindo's house, ninety yards dis- 
tant, held a high and commanding position, which ex- 
posed our back yard and the kitchen to a raking fire, 
which from this time forth was almost incessant from 
all quarters upon us, the least exposure of person creat- 
ing a target for fifty simultaneous shots. The enemy 
appeared to have some excellent rifles, among other 
arms ; and some of them proved themselves tolerably 
sharp shooters, sending their balls continually through 
our port-holes. On the 11th the fire was warm, but 
on our part it was rarely that we could get a sight of 
them. In the afternoon of this day we had to lament 
U* 



376 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

the death of Passed Midshipman McLanahan, attached 
to the United States ship Cyane ; a ball striking him 
in the right side of the neck, a little below the thyroid 
cartilage, lodged in the left shoulder. He died in 
about two hours. He was a young officer of great 
promise, energetic, of much forethought for his age, 
and brave to temerity. All lamented his untimely 
fate, and all bear willing testimony to his worth. 

On the morning of the 12th, at daylight, we dis- 
covered that the enemy had thrown up a breastwork 
upon the sand, about one hundred and fifty yards to 
the north-east of the cuartel, and entirely command- 
ing our watering place. We fired several round shjt 
at it, with little effect. We succeeded in getting in 
being in strong force, and kept a close watch upon us. 
Their force was over three hundred, speaking within 
bounds. I immediately commenced digging a well in 
the rear of Mott's house, which is the lowest ground. 
I found that we had to go through rock, and judged 
we should have to dig about twenty feet. I thought 
it imprudent to blast, as the enemy, suspecting our 
intention, would throw every obstacle in our way. The 
men worked cheerfully on this and the succeeding 
day against all difficulties. Our situation was becom- 
ing now an imminently critical one, having with the 
greatest economy but four days' water. On the 14th 
we continued digging for water. We found that the 
enemy had thrown up a second breastwork more to 
the westward, giving them a cross-fire upon our water- 
ing place: there was a continual fire kept up upon the 
cuartel during the day. At three o'clock, 30 minutes 
P. M., a sail was reported in sight, which proved to be 
the United Ship Cyane. She anchored after sun- 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 377 

down. It was of course a joyful sight to us to see 
friends so near ; but I was apprehensive that they 
could render us but little assistance, the enemy being 
so vastly superior in numbers. The enemy continued 
their firing upon us during the night. On the 15th at 
day-light, we became aware that the Cyane was landing 
men. They soon commenced their advance, which for 
a few moments was opposed only by a scattering fire ; 
then the enemy opened upon them in earnest. They 
had concentrated nearly their entire force near San 
Vincente. We saw the flash of musketry through all 
the hills above the village. There was the odds of 
three to one against our friends. Steadily they came 
on, giving back the enemy's fire as they advanced. 
There was still a party of the enemy occupying the 
town, firing upon us. I took thirty men, and sallied 
out upon them, drove them from cover, killed one 
and wounded several of them, and marched out to 
join the Cyane's men, who, with Captain Dupont at 
their head, had now drawn quite near to us. There 
were small detached parties of the enemy still hover- 
ing about them, and firing at them, but the main body 
of the enemy had been broken, and retired to " Las 
Animas," distant two miles. The march of the 
Cyane's men to our relief, through an enemy so vastly 
their superior in numbers, well mounted and possess- 
ing every advantage in knowledge of the ground, was 
certainly an intrepid exploit, as creditably performed 
as it was skilfully and boldly planned, and reflects 
the greatest honor on all concerned. It resulted most 
fortunately for us in our harassed situation. They 
had but four wounded ; this cannot be termed any 
thing but the most remarkably good luck, considering 
the severe fire that this heroic little band were ex* 



378 HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 

posed to. The loss of the enemy we have not posi- 
tively ascertained: we hear of thirteen killed, with 
certainty, and general report says thirty-five ; 
wounded not known. Of the total loss of the enemy 
in their attack upon the cuartel, I cannot speak with 
certainty; we have found several graves, and know 
of a number wounded, one of whom we have in the 
cuartel a prisoner. I suppose their total loss to be 
not far from fifteen killed, and many wounded ; I am 
sure it could not be les£ than this. Our own total 
loss was three killed and four slightly wounded. After 
the death of Passed Midshipman McLanahan, there 
remained but one officer to my assistance, Passed 
Midshipman George A. Stevens, to whom, for his 
coolness and indefatigable zeal at a time when so 
much devolved upon him, I am most happy to accord 
the highest credit ; and at the same time I must 
honorably mention the conduct of a volunteer, Eu- 
gene Gillespie, Esq., who, although suffering from ill- 
ness, never deserted his post, and was with me in the 
sortie of the 7th. The non-commissioned officers and 
men went through privation, unceasing watchfulness, 
and danger, without a murmur. I cannot express too 
highly my satisfaction in their conduct. Captain 
Dupont immediately upon his arrival here, becoming 
aware of our situation as regards provisions, took mea- 
sures for our supply. The day after the battle of San 
Vincente he despatched a train, which brought us by 
hand (the enemy having driven off all the mules and 
horses) a quantity of stores and articles of which we 
stood most in need, among the rest, bread, and has since 
been unceasing in his exertions for our relief. I cannot 
too earnestly express the obligations which we are under 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 379 

ior the prompt and efficient assistance which Captain 
Dupont, his officers, and crew have rendered us. 
I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, 
CHAS. IIEYWOOD, 
Lieutenant U. S. Navy, comg., San Jose, 
Lieut. Col. Henry S. Burton, 
U. S. Army, comg. troops in Loiver California. 

W. T. SHERMAN, 
First Lieutenant c 6d Artillery, A. A. A. General. 



H. 

United States Barracks 



La Paz, California, April 13, 1848. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt 
of your letter of March 1, 1848, and to report the 
arrival of the army storeship " Isabella" at this place 
on the 22d of March, 1848, with Captain Naglee's 
company (D) New York volunteers, and one hundred 
and fourteen recruits for the detachment of New York 
volunteers stationed at this place. 

The rescue of the prisoners of war on the 15th ultimo 
caused great excitement among the enemy, and tended 
very much to disorganize their forces, and the import- 
ant arrival of the reinforcements to my command 
determined me to take the field as soon as possible ; 
accordingly, I left this place on the morning of the 
26th instant with two hundred and seventeen officers 
and men ; Lieutenant Halleck, United States en- 
gineers, acting chief of staff, and Passed Midshipman 
Duncan, United States navy, temporarily attached to 
the mounted portion of Captain Naglee's command. 



380 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

The afternoon of the 27th, a party of fifteen men 
captured, in San Antonio, Pineda, the commander of 
the Mexican forces, with his secretary, Serrano. 

The morning of the 29th, having received informa- 
tion that the enemy had concentrated their forces in 
Todos Santos, we pressed on with all speed, fearing 
they might evade us, by retreating towards Magdalena 
Bay. The morning of the 30th, about ten o'clock, 
having received accurate information respecting the 
enemy, Captain Naglee with forty-five mounted men 
was despatched to intercept the road leading from 
Todos Santos to Magdalena Bay, and, if practicable, 
to attack the enemy in the rear at the same time our 
main body made its attack in front. 

The road leading from Todos Santos to La Paz, for 
some distance before reaching the first named place, 
passes through a dense growth of chaparral, (very 
favorable for an ambush), and in this the enemy made 
their arrangements to receive us. We left the road 
about five miles from Todos Santos and marched along 
a ridge of high land on the north side of the river, 
having full view of the enemy's operations. 

They then took possession of a commanding hill 
directly in our route, between three and four miles 
from Todos Santos, with their Indians in front. Com- 
panies A and B, under the direction of Lieutenant 
Halleck, were deployed as skirmishers in such a man- 
ner as to expose the enemy to a cross-fire. The enemy 
opened their fire at long distance, but our force ad- 
vanced steadily, reserving their fire until within good 
musket range, when it was delivered with great effect, 
and the enemy retreated very rapidly, after a short 
but sharp engagement. At this time, Captain Naglee 
being near Todos Santos, and hearing the firing, 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 381 

attacked the enemy in rear, and after a severe action 
completed their dispersion. Our men and horses being 
too much fatigued by their long march to pursue 
the scattered enemy, we marched on to Todos San- 
tos. 

The loss of the enemy in this engagement cannot 
be ascertained with any accuracy ; we know of ten 
killed and eight wounded. Our loss was nothing ; one 
man and the horse of Acting Lieutenant Scott were 
slightly wounded, the enemy, as usual, firing too high. 

Our officers and men fully sustained the character 
they won on the 16th and 27th of November last. 

My warmest thanks are due to Lieutenant Halleck, 
for his assistance as chief of staff, and I present him 
particularly to the notice of the colonel commanding, 
for the able manner in which he led on the attack on 
the 30th ultimo. 

Captain Naglee also deserves particular notice for 
the energetic and successful manner in which he ful- 
filled his instructions. 

On the 31st ultimo, Captain Naglee, with fifty 
mounted men of his company, was ordered to pursue 
the enemy in the direction of Magdalena Bay. He 
returned to La Paz on the 12th instant, having pur- 
sued the enemy very closely, capturing five prisoners 
and some arms. 

Lieutenant Halleck started for San Jose' with a 
party of mounted men, consisting of one officer and 
twenty-five non-commissioned officers and privates, on 
the 5th instant, for the purpose of communicating 
with Captain Dupont, commanding United States 
sloop-of-war Cyane. He returned here on the lltb 
instant, having captured ten prisoners on his march, 
and taken a number of arms. 



382 HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 

From him I learn that the naval force at San Jos£ 
have thirty odd prisoners, and among others " Mau- 
ricio Castro," the self-styled political chief of Lower 
California. Lieutenant Selden, with a party from the 
Cyane, made a most opportune march on Santiago, 
where he captured a number of the enemy who had 
fled from the field of Todos Santos. Castro, who 
commanded the enemy's forces in the action of the 
30th, was arrested near Maria Flores by the civil 
authorities and delivered up to Lieutenant Selden. 

During the stay of our main body at Todos Santos 
fourteen prisoners were captured; among them too 
sons of the reverend padre Gabriel Gonzales, officers 
of the Mexican forces. 

We left Todos Santos on the 5th instant, and arrived 
at this place on the 7th. The result of this short 
campaign has been the complete defeat and dispersion 
of the enemy's forces. 

We have captured their chief and six officers, an 
one hundred and three non-commissioned officers and 
privates ; and others are daily presenting themselves 
to the civil authorities in different parts of the country. 

The captured arms have been given to those ran- 
cheros known to be friendly to the interests of the 
United States, for their protection. 

I am, sir, with much respect, your obedient servant, 
HENRY S. BURTON, 
Lieutenant Colonel New York Volunteers. 

Lieutenant W. T. Sherman, 

Act. Ass. Adjt. Gen. Tenth Mil. Dep. 

W. T. SHERMAN, 
First Lieut. 3d Artillery A. A. A. General. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 383 



Appendix L 



The following despatch from Governor Mason, gives 
an account of the state of affairs in Upper California, 
in October, 1847 : 

Headquarters Tenth Military Department, 
Monterey, California, October 7, 1847. 

Sir : I returned from San Francisco yesterday, and 
found here Mr. Toler, with despatches from Washing- 
ton, the receipt of which I have the honor to acknow- 
ledge. I am also informed by Commodore Shubrick 
that the sloop-of-war Preble is ready to sail for 
Panama, with Passed Midshipman Wilson as bearer 
of despatches for the United States. I therefore avail 
myself of the opportunity to send you my letter of 
the 18th of September, with its several packages, and 
now have to communicate the result of my visit to 
San Francisco. 

I found the town flourishing and prosperous, with a 
busy, industrious population of Americans, and refer 
you to the copies of my military correspondence for the 
steps adopted to give them a good town government. 
The Bay of San Francisco, you are well aware, is a 
spacious, elegant harbor, susceptible of the most per- 
fect defence ; but as yet nothing has been done 
towards fortifying it, or even placing any of the heavy 
guns in position at the old fort. It is found almost 
impossible to get much work out of the volunteers; 
and all that I can now expect of the two companies 
of Major Har die's command will be to improve their 
quarters at the old presidio. This they are at present 
engaged upon, using lumber made at the horse saw- 
mill, under direction of the assistant quartermaster, 



384 HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 

Captain Folsom. All this labor is done by the volun- 
teers, so that the improvements will be made at very 
little expense to the government. The price of lum- 
ber at San Francisco is $50 per M. ; but Captain 
Folsom says that he has it sawed and delivered, by 
the labor of the volunteers and his own machinery, at 
about $16. The mill is placed in the timber known as 
the Red Woods, near the mission of San Rafael, on 
the west and north sides of the bay, where any amount 
can be had. If the government design to erect per- 
manent structures to any extent in this country, it 
would be advisable to send out a steam engine, with 
all the necessary frames and iron-work to adapt it to 
immediate use in connexion with the saw and grist 
mills now in possession of the quartermaster's depart- 
ment here. The site at present selected by Captain 
Folsom is well adapted, as easy water communication 
is had with the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers as 
well as the parts of the country south of San Francisco. 

At San Francisco I found all the powder, arms, 
accoutrements, and perishable ordnance property well 
stored in a building prepared for the purpose at the 
presidio barracks ; but the guns, mortars, carriages, 
shot, and shells are in the town in the open air, pro- 
tected by paint alone. The great difficulty of hauling 
such articles over the rugged hills between the town 
and presidio will prevent their being hauled to the 
latter place this season. 

I did design to continue my tour of inspection to 
Sonoma and the Sacramento River, but was recalled 
by hearing of the arrival of the bearer of despatches 
at Monterey. 

When on my way up to San Francisco, I was over- 
taken by Captain Brown, of the Mormon battalion, 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 385 

who had arrived from Fort Hall, where he had left 
his detachment of the battalion, to come to California 
to report to me in person. He brought a muster-roll 
of his detachment, with a power of attorney from all 
its members to draw their pay ; and as the battalion 
itself had been discharged on the 16th of July, Pay- 
master Rich paid to Captain Brown the money due the 
detachment up to that date, according to the rank 
they bore upon the muster-rolls upon which the batta- 
lion had been mustered out of service. Captain 
Brown started immediately for Fort Hall, at which 
place and in the valley of Bear River he said the 
whole Mormon emigration intended to pass the winter. 
He reported that he had met Captain Hunt, late of 
the Mormon battalion, who was on his way to meet 
the emigrants and bring into the country this winter, 
if possible, a battalion according to the terms offered 
in my letter to him of the 16th of August, a copy of 
which you will find among the military correspondence 
of the department. 

In my letter I offered Captain Hunt the command 
of the battalion with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, 
with an adjutant; but I find, by the orders lately 
received, that a battalion of four companies is only 
entitled to a major and acting adjutant. I will notify 
Captain Hunt of this change at as early a moment as 
I can communicate with him. I am pleased to find 
by the despatches that in this matter I have antici- 
pated the wish of the department. 

Last season there was a great scarcity of provisions 
on the coast of California ; but when the stores are 
received that are now on their way, there will be 
an ample supply for the coming winter. The crops in 
this country have been very fine this season, and at 



386 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

present "wheat is plenty and cheap at San Francisco, 
Beef is also plenty. Beans can be purchased at tha 
southern ports, and sugar imported from the Sand- 
wich Islands ; but for all other subsistence stores we 
are dependent upon the South American ports or 
those of the United States. I have directed Captain 
Marcy, acting commissary of subsistence at this post, 
to supply the chief of his department with the market 
price of all kinds of provisions, with such other facts 
as may enable his department to act with the proper 
economy. The want of good clothing for the regulars 
and volunteers is already felt in California ; and unless 
a supply has already been despatched, many of the 
garrisons will be without shoes and proper clothing 
this winter. The price of such articles here is so 
exorbitant as to place them beyond the reach of the 
soldiers. The volunteer clothing brought by Sutler 
Haight has already been disposed of to citizens and 
soldiers, and there are no means of his renewing the 
supply except by sending to the United States. Justice 
to the soldier demands that he either be comfortably 
clad by the government, or that it should be within 
his power to clothe himself on the allowance provided 
for that purpose by law. 

I respectfully recommend, if it has not already been 
done, that a large supply of infantry undress winter 
clothing be sent immediately to this country, to be 
distributed, so as to enable each volunteer to purchase 
for his own immediate use at cost prices. No summer 
clothing is needed, as the climate is too severe, sum- 
mer and winter. Such articles as good blankets, cloth 
overcoats, caps, jackets, overalls, stockings, and shoes ; 
with stout shirts and drawers, are the only ones that 
will ever be needed here. 



I 







CROSSING THE ISfirntUS. 



IIISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 3S7 

General orders No. 10, of 1847, promotes Lieute- 
tAnt Looser, third artillery, and orders him to join 
Ins company. I regret that at this moment his services 
cxnnot be spared, and I am compelled to retain him 
on duty with company F, third artillery, because the 
absence of Captain Tompkins, the death of Lieutenant 
Minor, and Lieutenant Sherman being detached as 
acting assistant adjutant general, has reduced the 
number of officers of that company to but two — 
Lieutenants Ord and Loeser. I trust that the two 
companies of regulars in this country will be kept with 
a full supply of officers, that an officer, upon being 
promoted, may be enabled to join the army in the 
field, and participate in the active operations to which 
he looks for distinction and experience. 

Captain H. M. Naglee, seventh New York volun- 
teers, with a strong detachment of his company, is 
now absent in pursuit of Indians in the valley of the 
San Joaquin. He has with him Lieutenant Burton's 
company of California volunteers, which is expected 
to return to Monterey before the end of this month ; 
in which case I shall cause it to be mustered out of 
service, and discharged on the 31st day of October. 

Again I have to report the death, by sickness, of 
an officer of my command — Lieutenant C. C. Ander- 
son, seventh New York volunteers, who contracted a 
fever when on duty at Fort Sacramento, and died in 
consequence at San Francisco on the 13th of Septem- 
ber. He was buried with military honors by the troops 
at San Francisco, under direction of Major Hardie. 
This death reduces the number of officers in Captain 
Brackett's company, seventh regiment New York 
volunteers, to one captain and one second lieutenant. 

Commodore Shubrick will sail for the west coast of 



388 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

Mexico from this harbor next week ; and having made 
application to me, I haye directed Lieutenant Halleck, 
of the engineer corps, to accompany him, and shall 
give Lieutenant Colonel Burton, in command at La 
Paz, Lower California, authority to accompany Com- 
modore Shubrick, should the latter design an attack 
upon any point or points of the west coast of Mexico, 
with orders, of course, to resume his position at La 
Paz as soon as the object is accomplished for which 
his command is desired. 

Note. — Colonel Burton will be directed to leave a 
sufficient number of men at La Paz to keep the flag 
flying. 

It affords me much pleasure to assure the depart- 
ment that the most perfect harmony subsists between 
the members of the naval and land forces on this coast, 
and that the most friendly intercourse is kept up 
between the officers. I have had frequent occasion 
myself to ask assistance of Commodores Biddle and 
Shubrick, and my requests have been granted with 
promptness and politeness ; and in return I have 
afforded them all the assistance in my power. Our 
consultations have been frequent and perfectly harmo- 
nious, resulting, I hope, in the advancement of the 
common cause of our country. 

I have the honor to be, your most obedient servant, 

R. B. MASON, 
Colonel 1st Dragoons, Commanding* 

To General R. Jones, 

Adjutant- General, Washington D. Q, 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 3^9 

Appendix J. 

We have already given the substance of Governor 
Mason's despatch to the government, giving an ac- 
count of the gold discovery and a visit to the placers. 
There is, therefore, no necessity for inserting that 
official document. The appearance in Upper Cali- 
fornia, in July 1848, of Don Pio Pico, the former gov- 
ernor of the territory, gave rise to serious apprehen- 
sions of another insurrection. The despatch of Col. 
Stephenson, the commander of the garrison at Los 
Angeles, to Colonel Mason, contains an account of the 
matter, together with a description of the ex-governor. 
Headquarters Southern Military District, 

Los Angeles, California, July 20, 1848. 
Sir : By the last mail I informed you of the ar- 
rival of Don Pio Pico in this district. I subsequently 
learned that he had passed through San Diego with- 
out presenting himself to Captain Shannon, or in any 
manner reporting his arrival. Immediately after his 
arrival, rumors reached me of conversations had by 
him with his countrymen, in which he stated that he 
had returned with full powers to resume his guberna- 
torial functions, and that he had only to exhibit his cre- 
dentials to you to have the civil government turned 
over to him. I found the people becoming very much 
excited, and some rather disposed to be imprudent. I 
sent for Jose Ant. Carrillo and some others in the 
town, who were giving currency to these reports, and 
informed them that I should hold them responsible 
for any imprudent or indiscreet act of their country- 
men, and that, at the first appearance of any dis- 
respect to the American authorities, I should arrest 
and confine them in the guard-house. This had the 
27 



390 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

effect to check all excitement here ; but as Don Pio 
removed up the country, the same excitement began 
to spread among the rancheros. In the mean time, 
his brother Andreas informed me that he, Don Pio, 
would come in and report to me in person in a few 
days, as soon as he had recovered from the fatigue 
of his journey. On Saturday, the 15th instant, he 
reached the ranch of an Englishman named Work- 
man, some eighteen miles from here. This man has 
ever been hostile to the American cause and interest, 
and is just the man to advise Pico not to come in and 
report to me. 

On Sunday and Monday I was advised that many 
Californians had visited Pico at Workman's, and that 
the same story had been told them of his having re- 
turned to resume his gubernatorial functions, &c, and 
also that he should not report to me, but go direct to 
San Fernando, from whence he would communicate 
with you. The moment I became satisfied that he 
intended to adopt this course, I issued an order (copy 
inclosed) requiring him to report to me immediately 
in person. I sent my adjutant with a detachment of 
men to the ranch of Workman to deliver to Don Pio 
in person a copy of this order, with instructions to 
bring him in by force, in case he refused or even 
hesitated to obey. The adjutant returned here at 
twelve o'clock on Monday with information that the 
Don had left for San Fernando. I immediately de- 
spatched Lieutenant Davidson with a detachment of 
dragoons and a copy of the order, with instructions 
similar to those given Adjutant Bonnycastle. About 
five o'clock on Tuesday morning I received a visit 
from a gentleman named Reed, living at the mission 
of San Gabriel, who informed me that Don Pio Pico 



IIISTORr OF CALIFORNIA. 801 

had arrived at his house quite late in the evening of 
Monday, on his way to San Fernando. Reed inquired 
if he did not intend reporting to me in person ; he 
answered in the negative ; when Reed assured him, 
if he attempted to pass my post without reporting, I 
would cause him to be arrested, and that he was 
aware of my being displeased at his passing through 
San Diego without reporting to the commandant of 
that post. Don Pio Pico, upon receiving this infor- 
mation, became alarmed, and requested Reed to come 
in and see me, to say he intended no disrespect, and 
would come and report at any hour I w T ould name. 
Reed is a highly respectable man, and has ever been 
friendly to the American cause ; and I gave him a 
copy of the order I had issued in regard to Don Pio, 
requesting him to deliver it, and say to Don Pio, he 
could come in at any hour he chose, within twenty- 
four hours. Accordingly about eight P. M., the same 
evening, the ex-governor came in. He was unaccom- 
panied even by a servant, evidently desiring it should 
not be known he was in town. I received him kicdly, 
told him I had no desire to treat him harshly, but that 
the American authorities must be respected, and if he 
had not come in I should certainly have arrested him. 
He informed me that he left Guaynas on the 22d of 
May, crossed to Mulige, which he left for California 
on June third, and arrived at San Diego, July sixth. 
He says that when he left Guaynas nothing had been 
heard of the action of the Mexican Congress upon 
the treaty, but it was generally supposed it would be 
ratified. He says the Mexican government did not 
answer any of his communications ; and the monunt 
he saw the armistice published in a newspaper, he 
determined to return home, as he supposed V could 



392 niSTORY of California. 

return with credit, under the stipulations of the 
armistice. He brings with him no other authority 
for his return, and says he desires to live peaceably, 
and attend to his private affairs. He denies ever 
having said that he came back with powers to resume 
his gubernatorial functions, and that he rebuked such 
of his friends as he had seen for their last attempt at 
a revolution, and advises that they remain quiet and 
obey the laws, as no part of the people of the con- 
quered Mexican territory have been treated as kindly 
as the Californians have been hj the American au- 
thorities. He thanked me for my personal kindness 
to his family and countrymen in general, and said if 
I would permit him he would go to San Fernando, 
from whence he would answer that part of my order 
which required a written communication from him. I 
gave him permission to leave, and offered him an 
escort, which he thanked me for, but declined. Don 
Pio Pico is about five feet seven inches high, corpu- 
lent, very dark, with strongly-marked African fea- 
tures ; he is, no doubt, an amiable, kind hearted man, 
who has ever been the tool of knaves ; he does not 
appear to possess more intelligence than the rancheroa 
generally do ; he can sign his name, but I am in- 
formed he cannot write a connected letter ; hence, as 
he informed me, he would be compelled to send for 
his former secretary before he could answer my order 
or communicate with you, which he advised me he 
intended doing. I have promised to take charge of 
and forward any communication he may choose to 
make you. He left town on Wednesday morning very 
early, as obscurely as he had entered it ; and those 
who advised him to assume the bombastic tone he did 
upon his first arrival, have done him irreparable injury, 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 393 

for lie is now ridiculed by many who before enter- 
tained a high respect for him. 

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obe- 
dient servant, 

J. D. STEVENSON, 
Colonel 1st New York Regiment, commanding 
S. M. District 

Colonel R. B. Mason, 

1st U. Dragoons, Governor of California. 

P. S. — Since writing the above, I have received the 
inclosed note from Don Pio Pico, inclosing a commu- 
nication to your excellency. In the note of Don Pio 
to me, you will perceive that he is no sooner arrived 
at San Fernando than he claims to have returned to 
California as its Mexican governor, to carry out the 
provisions of the armistice. I shall not answer his 
note until I have heard from you ; but I shall keep 
an eye on him, and if I find he is preaching sedition, 
I will bring him in here at short notice. 

J. D. STEVENSON, 
Colonel, commanding, 
W. T. SHERMAN, 
First Lieutenant Bd Artillery, A. A. A. General. 



Appendix K. 

On the 13th of April, 1849, Colonel Mason at his 
own request, was relieved from the post of Governor 
of California, and Brigadier-General Riley took his 
place. The despatch of that officer, dated 30th of 
June, following his assuming the duties of his post, 
is important, as containing an account of the state of 
feeling in California, upon the subject of the laws at 



394 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

that time in force, and the difficulties with various as* 
semblies elected in the northern part of the terri- 
tories. 

Executive Department of California, 
Monterey, June 30, 1849. 

General : I have the honor to transmit herewith 
copies of all civil correspondence and papers since 
the 13th of April last, at which time I relieved Colo- 
nel Mason from his duties as Governor of California. 

It was (with the advice of Colonel Mason) my in- 
tention, on assuming the direction of civil affairs in 
this country, to complete the organization of the exist- 
ing government ; at the same time to call a convention 
for forming a State Constitution, or plan of territorial 
government, to be submitted to Congress for its appro- 
val. But on further consultation it was deemed best 
to postpone all action "on this subject, until I could 
ascertain what had been done in Congress. On the 
first instant I received reliable information by the 
steamer "Edith" that that body had adjourned with- 
out organizing any territorial government for this 
country ; and accordingly, on the 3d instant I issued 
my proclamation to the people of California, defining 
what was understood to be the legal position of affairs 
here, and pointing out the course it was deemed ad- 
visable to pursue in order to procure a new political 
organization better adapted to the character and 
present condition of the country. The course indi- 
cated in my proclamation will be adopted by the 
people, almost unanimously, and there is now little or 
no doubt that the convention will meet on the first of 
September next and form a State Constitution, to be 
submitted to Congress in the early part of the coming 
session. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 395 

A few prefer a territorial organization, but I think 
a majority will be in favor of a State government, so 
as to avoid all further difficulties respecting the ques- 
tion of slavery. This question will probably be sub- 
mitted, together with the Constitution, to a direct vote 
of the people, in order that the wishes of the people 
of California may be clearly and fully expressed. Of 
course, the Constitution or plan of territorial govern- 
ment formed by this convention can have no legal 
force till approved by Congress. 

On the receipt of the treaty of peace with Mexico, 
doubt was entertained by a portion of the people here 
respecting what constituted the legal government and 
laws of the country. A few contended that all 
government and all laws in California were at an end, 
and that therefore the people, in their sovereign 
capacity, might make such government and laws as 
they should deem proper. Accordingly, in two of the 
northern districts, local legislative assemblies were 
organized, and laws enacted for the government of 
the people of these districts. The members of the 
Sonoma assembly, however, soon became convinced 
of their error, and that body was dissolved. But in 
San Francisco the assembly continued its sessions, 
making laws, creating and filling offices, imposing and 
collecting taxes, without the authority and in violation 
of law, and finally went so far as to abolish the office 
of alcalde, whose records and papers were seized and 
forcibly removed from his custody. On receiving 
official information of these facts, I issued my procla- 
mation of the 4th instant. Since then I have made 
a personal visit to San Francisco, and find that the 
more respectable members of the so-called district 
assembly are convinced of the impropriety of the 



396 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

course pursued by that body, and in a very short time 
I think all the difficulties will be amicably arranged. 
These difficulties arose in part from a misapprehen- 
sion as to what constituted the legal government of 
the country, and in part from the unpopularity of the 
first alcalde of that district, against whom serious 
charges had been made. Unfortunately, there was 
at the time no legal tribunal for investigating these 
charges ; and, there being no other magistrate in that 
district, I could not, with propriety, remove him from 
office. A new election, however, will soon be held to 
supply his place; and on the organization of the 
"superior court," the charges against him can be 
properly investigated. 

The publication of a portion of the instructions 
received from Washington respecting the government 
of this country, and the disposition manifested by the 
authorities here to enforce the existing laws, have 
done much to remove the erroneous opinions which 
were for a time entertained by a portion of the people 
of California. The civil government of this country 
has been, and will continue to be, administered on the 
principle laid down by the Supreme Court of the 
United States, viz: on the transfer of the ceded 
territory, it has never been held that the relations of 
the inhabitants with each other undergo any change. 
Their relations with their former sovereign are dis- 
solved, and new relations are created between them 
and the government which has acquired their territory. 
The mere act which transfers their country transfers 
the allegiance of those who remain in it ; and the law 
which may be denominated political is necessarily 
changed, although that which regulates the intercourse 
and general conduct of individuals remains in force 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 397 

until altered by the newly-created power of th£ 
State. 

The treaty is the law of the land, and admits the 
inhabitants of [California] to the enjoyment of the 
privileges, rights, and immunities of citizens of the 
United States. It is unnecessary to inquire whether 
this is not their condition, independent of stipulation. 
They do not, however, participate in political power ; 
they do not share in the government till [California] 
shall become a State. In the mean time, [California] 
continues to be a territory of the United States, 
governed by virtue of that clause of the constitution 
which empowers Congress to make all needful rules 
and regulations respecting the territory and othe" 
property belonging to the United States. 

When we take into consideration the great mass of 
floating population of the United States and of other 
countries — people of all nations, kindreds and tongues 
— which has been suddenly thrown into this country, 
it must be acknowledged that every thing has, thus 
far, remained remarkably quiet, and that the amount 
of crime has been much less than might, under the 
circumstances, have reasonably been expected. It is 
to be feared, however, that during the coming winter, 
when large numbers of the miners collect in the towns, 
public order may be occasionally disturbed. But it is 
believed that in the mean time a more complete organi- 
zation of the existing government will be effected, so 
as to enable the authorities to enforce the laws with 
greater regularity and efficiency. 

Rumors have reached me that there is no very 
amicable feeling existing between the Americans and 
foreigners in the gold regions, and that the former 
are disposed to forcibly expel the latter from the placer 



393 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

districts. I shall soon visit the valleys of the Sacra- 
mento and San Joaquin, and hope to be able to report 
upon the true state of affairs there by the August 
steamer. As Congress has declined passing any laws 
restricting the working of the placers, I shall not 
deem myself authorized to interfere in this matter, any 
further than may be necessary to preserve the public 
tranquillity. Indeed there is much reason to believe 
that Congress has pursued the best policy, under the 
circumstances, in leaving the placers open to all; for 
it would be exceedingly difficult to enforce any regula- 
tions not absolutely required by the necessity of the 
case, and it is more than probable that any attempt 
at this time to rent out the mineral lands, or to tax 
their products, would involve a great expense, and it 
is quite possible that such an attempt would lead to 
very serious difficulties. Of the large numbers who 
have been attracted to this country by the nattering 
prospect of sudden wealth, and with the intention of 
returning to their former homes to enjoy their gains, 
many foreigners as well as Americans are becoming 
established in business, and will make California their 
permanent place of residence. It is therefore well 
worthy of serious consideration whethe* the present 
system may not prove equally beneficial with that of 
a more exclusive policy. It certainly conduces much 
towards developing the resources of the country, ex- 
tending its commerce, and rapidly augmenting its 
wealth and population. As soon as I have made a 
personal examination of the gold regions, I shall be 
prepared to express my views on this subject ; but I 
cannot omit the present occasion to urge upon the 
government the importance of establishing a mint in 
California, with the least possible delay. 



HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 399 

Information, not official, lias been received, that the 
revenue laws of the United States have been extended 
over this country, and that a collector and deputies 
may soon be expected to take charge of the collection 
of revenue in this district. On their arrival, all cus- 
tom-houses and custom-house property will be turned 
over to them, and the temporary collectors employed 
by my predecessor and by myself will be discharged. 
The moneys collected during and since the war, under 
the direction of the governor of California, and not 
required for defraying the expenses of the civil govern- 
ment, will be kept as a separate and distinct fund, 
subject to the disposition of Congress. The grounds 
upon which this revenue has been collected since the 
declaration of peace, are fully stated in a letter to the 
collector of San Francisco, dated the 24th of February 
last. It may be proper to add, that the course pur- 
sued by my predecessor was rendered absolutely 
necessary by the peculiar circumstances of the case. 
The wants of the country rendered it imperative upon 
him to permit the landing of foreign goods in this 
territory ; and had this been done without the collec- 
tion of duties, large amounts of dutiable goods would 
have been placed in depot on this coast, to the mani- 
fest injury of the revenue and prejudice to our own 
merchants. The importers have sold their goods at 
such prices as to cover the duties paid, and still leave 
them enormous profits ; and to now return these 
duties to the importers would be a virtual gift, without 
in any way benefitting the people of California. But, 
to expend this money in objects of public utility in 
the country, would confer a lasting benefit upon all. 
I would therefore recommend that such portions of 
these moneys as may be left, after defraying the 
V*' 33 



400 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

expenses of the existing civil government, be given to 
California as a "school fund," to be exclusively devo- 
ted to purposes of education. No difficulty has been 
experienced in enforcing the tariff of 1846, and the re- 
venue has been collected at a very moderate expense, 
considering the peculiar circumstances of the times. 

All officers of the civil government of California 
will be paid out of the "civil fund" arising from the 
customs, the salaries fixed by law, and I would recom- 
mend that those officers of the army and navy who 
have been employed as collectors and receivers of 
customs in California, both during and since the war, 
be allowed a fair per centage on the money which 
they have collected and disbursed. Two and a half 
per cent, on the amount collected, with the restriction 
contained in section 2 of the Act of March 3, 1849, 
is deemed a fair allowance for collecting these customs, 
and two and a half per cent, on the amount actually 
expended is deemed ample compensation for keeping 
and accounting for the same. It would be more just 
and proper to make the allowance for the actual ex- 
penditures than for receiving and keeping these 
moneys ; because, if the reversed rule were established, 
officers who have received large sums, and within a 
few days transferred them to others, with no other 
trouble than merely passing receipts, would be entitled 
to a higher pay than those who have had all the 
trouble of expending this money in small sums, and in 
keeping and rendering accounts of these expenditures. 

As soon as these "civil funds" can be collected 
o-om the officers now holding them, it is proposed to 
place them in the hands of some officer, or other 
responsible person, who will act as treasurer for the 
civil government, with a fixed compensation for his 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 401 

services. On the arrival of the regular collector and 
deputies, appointed according to law, a full statement 
will be made of all the moneys which have been col- 
lected in California, and the papers and accounts con- 
nected with the expenditure of this civil fund will be 
sent to Washington, as heretofore, in order that all 
officers who shall receive or expend the same may be 
held to a strict accountability. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

B. RILEY, 
Brevet Brig. Gen. U. S. A., and Governor of Cali- 
fornia. 

Major-General R. Jones, 
Adjutant General of the Army, Washington, I). 



Appendix L. 

Governor Riley took occasion to make an excursion 
through the gold regions, soon after his affairs with 
the assemblies were disposed off. A reconnoisance 
of the valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin was 
made, and particular care given to the matter of es- 
tablishing military posts for defending the miners and 
others from the attacks of the Indians. After his re- 
turn to Monterey, the following despatch was sent to the 
headquarters of the United States army. The subject 
of the Indian troubles receives especial consideration. 

Headquarters Tenth Military Department, 

Monterey, California, August 30, 1849. 

Colonel : I found, on my return to this place from 

a reconnoissance of a portion of the valleys of San 

Jcaquin and Sacramento Rivers, general orders No. 1 



4:02 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

from the headquarters of the army ; and, as I cannot 
have copied in season for transmission by the steamer 
of the 1st proximo the military correspondence at 
these headquarters, I respectfully submit, for the in- 
formation of the commander-in-chief, a brief summary 
of reports heretofore made in relation to military 
affairs in this department. 

My attention was directed, on my arrival in this 
country, to the unparalleled excitement in relation to 
the mineral regions ; the imminent danger that our 
troops, as they arrived, would desert to the "placers" 
and, instead of giving protection to the parties, and 
aid in the preservation of order and tranquillity, would 
themselves become the very worst element of dis- 
order ; the great extent of Indian frontier to be 
guarded, and the difficulties then apprehended from 
the unsettled state *of affairs in the mining districts. 
An attentive consideration of these subjects impressed 
me with the opinion that the policy most likely to 
prove advantageous to the service, would be the con- 
centration of all the troops serving in this department, 
except the necessary guards for the depots at one or 
more points in the immediate vicinity of the gold 
regions, from whence a portion of them might be per- 
mitted to visit the placers for the purpose of working 
them for their own benefit — the remainder to be held 
embodied in a proper state of discipline, in readiness 
for any emergency that might occur. After the ex- 
piration of the furlough of the first class, a second 
class to be furloughed, and so in succession with the 
remainder ; the troops stationed at points so distant 
from the mines, that they could not be furloughed, to 
be relieved by exchange with commands that have 
been more favorably situated. The practice of grant- 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 403 

ing furloughs, adopted at some of the posts in this 
country, with the sanction of the former department 
commander, had succeeded well, and the information 
received about the time of my arrival from the south- 
ern part of this department confirmed me in the 
opinion previously entertained, that the mania for gold- 
hunting would exist, in its most exaggerated form, at 
points most remote from the placers. I accordingly, 
immediately after relieving Colonel Mason in the 
command of the department, recommended the adop- 
tion of the policy above indicated. It is a matter of 
regret, that the emergencies of the service have been 
such that it could not be carried out to the extent re- 
commended ; for the experience of the past four 
months has convinced me that it is the only course 
that can be adopted, with reasonable hope of success, 
until the state of affairs in this country is materially 
changed. In addition to the mere question of expe- 
diency, Indian difficulties that were then occurring, 
and the threatening danger of a proximate collision 
between the different classes at work in the gold re- 
gion, made it highly important that a strong military 
force should be established in the immediate vicinity 
of the mining region. 

For the disposition of the troops in the department, 
and the measures taken to prevent desertions, &c, I 
respectfully refer to department order and special 
orders forwarded to you by this mail. These furnish 
you with a history of the operations in the department 
since my assumption of the command. The present 
disposition of the troops is the same as indicated in 
orders No. 16, except that company A, 2d infantry, 
re-inforced by details from other companies — in all, 
four officers and eighty men — has been detached, un* 



40i HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 

der instructions from the commander of the division, 
as an escort for Captain Warner, topographical engi- 
neers, and company E, 1st dragoons, when en route 
for the station, was diverted from that route, for the 
purpose of securing the perpetrators of some murder3 
committed by Indians on or near Los Reyes River. 

The difficulties apprehended from a collision be- 
tween the different classes of the mining population 
have not yet occurred in the form which it was feared 
they would assume, and at present I do not apprehend 
any serious difficulty from that source. Some serious 
Indian disturbances have occurred on the American 
fork of the Sacramento, and a few isolated murders 
have occurred at other points ; but at the date of the 
last report from the frontier, every thing was quiet. 
The Indians of the Sierra Nevada, although in a great 
number, are of a degraded class, and are divided into 
so many different tribes, or rancherias, speaking differ- 
ent languages, that any combination on their part is 
scarcely to be apprehended. Their depredations 
heretofore have been confined generally to horse-steal- 
ing, and only occasionally have murders been com- 
mitted by them. These, however, have been made 
the pretence, by the whites in their neighborhood, for 
the commission of outrages of the most aggravated 
character — in one or two cases involving in an indis- 
criminate massacre the wild Indians of the Sierra 
and the tame Indians of the ranchos. The command- 
ers of detachments serving on the Indian frontiers are 
instructed to prevent any authorized interference with 
the Indians by the whites, and to support the Indian 
agents of their districts in the exercise of their appro- 
priate duties. From the character of the mining 
population, and the nature of their occupations, unless 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 4()5 

a atrong military force be maintained on that frontier, 
it will be impossible to prevent the commission of out* 
rages upon the Indians ; and they, in turn, will be 
avenged by murders committed upon isolated parties 
of whites. Unfortunately, the eagerness with which 
gold is sought after by detached parties of miners, 
gives many opportunities for the commission of such 
outrages. To seek after and apprehend the perpe- 
trators in cases of this kind, a mounted force is abso- 
lutely necessary; and, although great difficulty will 
be experienced in obtaining forage and replacing 
horses that may be disabled, its services are so indis- 
pensably necessary, that I greatly regret my inability 
to supply more than one company on the Indian fron- 
tier until after the company now on duty with the 
commissioner of the boundary survey is relieved. 

I have heretofore called the attention of the War 
Department and the division commander to the in- 
sufficiency of the force assigned to this department 
by general order No. 49 of 1848. As it may not be 
possible, with the present military establishment, to 
order any additional force to this country without the 
action of Congress, I respectfully invite the attention 
of the commanding general to the views heretofore 
expressed on this subject. A topographical sketch 
of a portion of this department is herewith inclosed, 
upon which I have indicated the positions or neigh- 
borhoods in which I deem it important that troops 
should be established. The amount and character @f 
the force required in my report to division headquar- 
ters, of June 11, is also inclosed. 

The embarrassments under which the service has 
labored will be so readily appreciated at home, that 

U is unnecessary to refer to them here except to say 

28 



406 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

that, great as these embarrassments have oeen, they 
have been greatly increased by the want of line and 
staff officers. 

In consequence of the extraordinary prices of labor, 
and the consequent enormous expenditures in this coun- 
try, young officers of the line should not be, in justice to 
the service and themselves, as they have unnecessarily 
been, encumbered, in addition to their company duties, 
with money and property responsibilities to a very 
great amount. Experienced officers of the quarter- 
master's department are required at San Francisco, 
San Diego, and with the commands on the upper Sa- 
cramento and San Joaquin Rivers. I have now but 
one officer, Captain Kane, of that department, under 
my control ; and he is necessarily detained at depart- 
ment headquarters in the preparation of my estimates 
for the services of the ensuing year. Quarters must 
soon be erected at several of the posts in this depart- 
ment ; and I cannot spare line officers for this duty, 
without destroying their efficiency with their compa- 
nies, even were it proper to do so. There are no topo- 
graphical engineers on duty in this department, and, 
in consequence of the want, I have been able to per- 
form very little of the duty devolved upon me by the 
111th paragraph general orders No. 49, of 1848. A 
reconnoissance of a portion of the valleys of the Sacra- 
mento and San Joaquin Rivers, undertaken for the 
purpose of determining the position to be occupied, as 
recommended in my report to division headquarters 
of April 16, to the War Department of the 25th of 
the same month, has strengthened my opinion of the 
importance of giving the country a most thorough 
examination before any military posts are permanently 
located in the interior. The whole district of country 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 407 

lying between the coast range and the Sierra Nevada 
is exceedingly sickly at certain seasons of the year. 
The common timber of the country (oak) is not fit for 
building purposes ; and I v?iis greatly disappointed in 
finding that south of the Sacramento Ui\ er, pme ttfc 
for lumber exists only on the spur of the mountains 
in small quantities, and in places difficult of access 
Stone, as a building material is scarce ; and at several 
of the points where it may be desirable to establish 
military posts, grain for forage is out of the question, 
and grass can only be found in exceedingly limited 
quantities. I expressed a hope in my despatches to 
the War Department of June 30, that I would be able 
to make an examination of the country along the 
western slope of the Sierra Nevada, from the source 
of the San Joaquin to the southern boundary of Cali- 
fornia ; but the season is now so far advanced that I 
fear I shall not be able to accomplish more than the 
determination of a position to be occupied in the 
neighborhood of Los Reyes River. It is of great im- 
importance that this point should be determined as 
soon as possible; for the new discoveries of gold 
constantly being made in that direction, are at- 
tracting thither a large portion of the mining 
population. The rapidly increasing population of the 
northern placers is gradually forcing the Indians to 
the south, and congregating them on the waters of the 
Lake Buena Yista, (Tula.) This position should be 
occupied, if possible, before the miners have become 
established in Los Reyes and the neighboring rivers ; 
and the necessary examinations and arrangements will 
be made as soon as it is possible to do so. 

Since my application (April 25) for officers of the 
quartermaster's department was made, two officers of 



±08 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

that corps, Majors Allen and Fitzgerald, whom I had 
supposed would be available for duty in this depart- 
ment, have been permanently separated from it ; and 
the number then applied for should be increased by 
two. 

Two of the medical officers in this department are 
now prostrated by disease ; and as their places cannot 
be supplied here, there should be at least three in this 
department, in addition to those actually required for 
duty at the different posts in the department, to meet 
emergencies of this kind. 

The ordnance depots at Monterey and San Fran- 
cisco are under the charge of military store-keepers. 
It is important, for the preservation of this property 
in a serviceable condition, that they should be under 
the supervision of an experienced ordnance officer. 

With the exception of the assistant quartermaster 
above referred to, the officers above enumerated have 
heretofore been applied for ; but as none have been 
reported to me, I will State in detail what officers are 
absolutely required with this command : 

Four officers of the quartermaster's department in 
addition to Captain Kane now on duty here: 

Two topographical engineers : 

Three additional medical officers : 

One officer of the ordnance department ; 

One officer of the subsistence department. 

The irregular communication with some of the in- 
terior posts, creates a good deal of embarrassment by 
delaying the department returns. In consequence of 
this I am unable to furnish a later return than for 
June. The transport Mary and Adeline, with com- 
panies A and F, 2d infantry, reached San Francisco 
on the Sth ultimo. The detachment of dragoons, on 




MOUNTAIN SCENERY IN LOWER CALIFORNIA. 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 409 

their march to the department with the collector of 
tkj3 district and the Arkansas emigrants, have not 
yet arrived. During the months of July and August, 
so far as reports have been received, there were but 
few desertions, except from the company detailed for 
the escort of Captain Warner, topographical engineers ; 
thirty-four men, more than half the whole number 
reported, have deserted from this company. The 
entire force in the department at this time does not 
probably exceed six hundred and fifty, (aggregate ;) 
and consequently more than four hundred recruits are 
now required to fill up these companies to the standard 
authorized for this department. 

A detailed report of my reconnoissance in the val- 
leys of the San Joaquin and Sacramento will be for- 
warded by the next steamer. I have delayed it in 
order to embody in it information in regard to the 
country in the neighborhood of the Tula, which I am 
in the daily expectation of receiving. 

The want of company officers is very much felt ; and 
I request that authority may be given me to break up 
the companies whose captains are permanently absent, 
transferring the officers to other companies, as their 
services may be needed. 

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, colonel, 
your obedient servant, 

B. EILEY, 
.Brevet Brigadier- General U. S. Army, commanding, 

Lieut. Col. W. G. Freeman, 

■. Assistant Adjutant General IT. iS. Army, 
Headquarters of the Army, New York, 



410 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA, 



Appendix M. 



In the early part of 1848, Lieut, H. W. Halieek, 
of the Engineers, was ordered to make a reconnoi- 
sance of the coast of Lower California, with reference 
to the location of works of military defence. In his 
report to Colonel Mason, after giving a general de- 
scription of the coast and harbors, and proposing a 
system of military defence, he submits some remarks 
upon the commercial and military importance of the 
peninsula. The whole report is interesting, and fur- 
nishes the most correct information upon the subject 
of the reconnoisance. It will form an interesting 
conclusion to a work which has been principally 
devoted to a description and history of Upper Cali- 
fornia, 

La Paz, April 12, 1848. 

Sir: In compliance with the instructions of the 
commanding general of the department to make a 
" reconnoisance of the coast of California, with refer- 
ence to the location of works of military defence," I 
reported in my last upon so much as relates to the 
upper province, and I now submit a few remarks on 
the military defence of 4he peninsula of Lower Cali- 
fornia. 

I. General description of the coast and harbors. — 
The principal ports of the coast of Lower California, 
visited by whaling and merchant vessels, are San 
Quintin, Magdalena, San Jose, La Paz, Escondido, near 
Loreto,) and Mulige. — There are some other points 
which vessels occasionally touch for supplies and at 
trade, but they are comparatively of little commercia) 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 411 

or military importance. The port of San Quintin, 
in latitude thirty degrees twenty-three minutes, is re- 
presented as affording a secure anchorage for vessels 
of every description, and to be sufficiently commo- 
dious for the reception of a numerous fleet. The ex- 
tensive bay of Magdalena has acquired considerable 
notoriety from its being resorted to every winter by 
large numbers of whaling vessels. Its size gives il 
the character of an inland sea, its waters being navi- 
gable for the distance of more than a hundred miles. 
It furnishes several places of safe and commodious 
anchorage. The bay of San Jose, near Cape Saint 
Lucas, is much frequented by coasting vessels, and 
occasionally visited by whalers and men-of-war. Be- 
ing the outlet of a fertile valley, extending some 
forty or fifty miles into the interior, it is probably the 
best place in the peninsula for supplying shipping 
with water and fresh provisions. It is, however, a 
mere roadstead, affording no protection whatever dur- 
ing the season of southeasters. 

La Paz is the seat of government and the principal 
port of Lower California, and its extensive bay 
affords excellent places of anchorage for vessels of 
any size, and is sufficiently commodious for the most 
numerous fleets. The principal pearl fisheries are 
in this immediate vicinity, and also the most valuable 
mining districts. It is the outlet of the fertile 
valley of the Todos Santos, and of the produce of 
the whole country between Santiago and Loreto. 
The cove or estero, opposite the town of La Paz, fur- 
nishes spacious and safe anchorage, which may be 
reached by vessels drawing not more than eighteen 
or twenty feet of water ; and the cove of Pichilingue, 
at the south-eastern extremity of the bay, and about 



412 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

six miles from the town, affords an excellent anchor- 
age for vessels of any size ; but the inner bay can be 
reached only by small merchant vessels. The bar, 
however, between the two is only a few yards in ex- 
tent ; and if the importance of the place should ever 
justify it, the channel might be made deeper without 
difficulty or great expense. The adjacent country 
being barren and mountainous, and the roads to the 
interior exceedingly difficult, this place can never be 
the outlet of much agricultural produce. But as the 
island of Carmen, nearly opposite the entrance to 
this bay, contains an almost inexhaustible supply of 
salt, very easy of access, it is possible that the trade 
in this article may eventually give considerable im- 
portance to the port of Escondido. 

The bay of Mulige contains several places of an- 
chorage, but none of them are deemed safe for large 
vessels, or even from small vessels, at all seasons of 
the year. There are also several other parts in the 
gulf farther north which are occasionally visited by 
coasting vessels, but it is not known that any of them 
are iikely to be of much commercial importance. 

II. Proposed system of defence. — It is not sup- 
posed that, under existing circumstances, any military 
post will be necessary on the western coast of the 
peninsula ; nor is it probable that, for many years, 
any place there will become of sufficient importance 
to justify the construction of military works for its 
defence. It is true that the whale fishery on this 
coast has become, from the amount of shipping en- 
gaged in it, an object of the highest consideration ; 
bwt our having ports of refuge at San Francisco or 
San Diego, and at La Paz, strong enough to resist a 
naval coup de main, will, it is believed, afford sufficient 



HISTORY 0* CALIFORNIA. 413 

security to these whalers in case of a war with a 
maritime power. 

On our arrival here in October last, it was deemed 
desirable to establish a small military post at San 
Jose, for the double purpose of giving protection to 
the friendly inhabitants against a band of Mexican 
freebooters who had crossed the gulf from Guaynas 
to Mulige and Loreto, and of preventing the further 
introduction of men and munitions from the opposite 
coast. The old mission building was found well 
adapted to the purpose in view, and with a few 
repairs and improvements served as an admirable pro- 
tection for the little garrison in the several attacks 
which it afterwards sustained from greatly superior 
forces. It will probably be necessary to continue 
this post during the war with Mexico, or at least so 
long as there is any danger of the enemy's sending 
troops from the opposite coast to again disturb the 
tranquillity of the peninsula ; but it is not deemed ad- 
visable to establish at this place any works of perma- 
nent defence, the character of the port not being such 
as to warrant expenditures for this purpose. The 
defences of the cuartel or mission building are deemed 
sufficient for all purposes of temporary occupation. 

Should the war with Mexico continue, and the 
naval forces be again withdrawn from the gulf, it may 
be necessary to establish temporarily a small military" 
post at Mulige ; but no permanent garrison will be 
required either at that place or Escondido, unless, 
perhaps, hereafter the commercial importance of the 
latter port should justify such a measure. 

La Paz is, therefore, the only port in Lower Cali- 
fornia which it will be necessary, for the present, to 
occupy with a permanent military force, or to secure 



414 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

by means of fortifications. For temporary pur- 
poses, the site of the old cuartel is well suited 
for the construction of defensive barracks, inas- 
much as it commands the town, and may readily be 
secured against an attack from the side. The 
buildings at present occupied as barracks are not 
judiciously located. A permanent work on Punta 
Colorada will completely close the entrance to 
Pichilingue cove, and its heavy guns will reach the 
entrance to the channel of La Paz ; but to give the 
requisite security to the latter, a small battery will be 
necessary on Punta Prieta. The topographical fea- 
tures of both these points are favorable for the con- 
struction of small fortifications. Stone of good 
quality for building purposes is found in the imme- 
diate vicinity, and good lime may be procured at the 
distance of only a few miles. Quarries have been 
opened in the " Calaveras," and the stone, though 
soft and easily worked, is found to be in this climate 
of a very durable character. La Paz is not difficult 
to defend against a naval attack, and the proposed 
fortifications may be constructed in a short time and 
without a very large expenditure of money. The com- 
mercial character of the place, its military import- 
ance as connected with the defence of the peninsula, 
ifes great value as a naval depot and port of refuge 
$or our commercial and military marine in case of war 
with any naval power, will, it is believed, fully justify 
the expenditures necessary for securing this port 
against a maritime attack. 

III. Commercial and military importance of Lower 
California. — Thus far in my report I have proceeded 
on the supposition that it is the intention of our gov- 
ernment to retain the whole of California in any 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 415 

treaty of peace with Mexico ; but doubts have re- 
cently been expressed on the policy of retaining this 
peninsula, on account of its being of little or no value 
to the United States. As the guerrilla forces which 
were sent over from Mexico the past summer, during 
the absence of our squadron from this coast, to regain 
possession of Lower California, and force the inhabit- 
ants to their allegiance to the Mexican government, 
have been defeated and completely dispersed, leaving 
our own troops in undisputed possession of the terri- 
tory, notning but a conviction of the utter worthle-ss- 
ness of- the country could now induce our government 
to consent to its abandonment. On this subject I 
beer leave to add a few remarks : 

The peninsula of California lies between twenty- 
two degrees fifty minutes and thirty-two degrees thirty 
minutes north latitude, being about seven hundred 
miles in length, and varying from fifty to one hundred 
miles in breadth. An irregular chain or broken ridge of 
mountains extend from Cape St. Lucas to the frontiers 
of Upper California, with spurs running off on each 
side to the gulf and ocean. Between these spurs are 
numerous broad plains covered with stunted trees, 
and during the rainy months with a thin but nutri- 
cious grass. In the dry season this grass is parched 
up like hay, but from its nutricious character it affords 
abundant food for the herds of cattle and horses 
which constitute the principal wealth of rancheros. 
The dryness of the soil prevent the growth of trees 
of any considerable magnitude, except on the borders 
of a few mountain streams. This timber, though far 
from being plentiful, is exceedingly durable and much 
esteemed in ship-building. The greatest height of the 
mountains is estimated five thousand feet ; many of 
W 34 



416 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

them are piles of mere broken rocks, while others are 
covered with grass, shrubbery, and small trees. The 
plains are sandy and mostly unproductive — not, how- 
ever, from any natural barrenness in the soil, but 
from a deficiency of water. There are but few 
durable streams in the whole country, and streams of 
good water are extremely scarce. But in the plains 
and most of the dry beds of rivers water can be obtained 
by digging wells only a few feet in depth ; and 
wherever irrigation has been resorted to by means of 
these wells, the produce of the soil, from its remark- 
able fertility, has abundantly rewarded the labor of the 
agriculturist. Much of this soil is of volcanic origin, 
having been washed from the mountains by the action 
of heavy rains, and the produce extracted by means 
of irrigation from these apparently barren and un- 
prolific sands is something most marvellous. The 
general aspect of the country on the coast is exceed- 
ingly barren and forbidding, but I have seen no in- 
stance where the soil is properly cultivated that the 
labor bestowed on it is not well rewarded. The 
growth of vegetation is exceedingly rapid, and the 
soil and climate are such as to produce nearly all the 
tropical fruits in great perfection. But the inhabit- 
ants are disinclined to agriculture, and most of them 
live indolent and roving lives, subsisting principally 
upon their herds. Notwithstanding the unfavorable 
character of the country, it is capable, in the hands 
of an industrious and agricultural people, of support- 
ing a population much more numerous than the pre- 
sent. In the time of the missions, when very small 
portions of the soil were cultivated, and even these 
but rudely, by the Indians, the four districts of San 
Jose, Santiago, San Antonio, and Todos S^tos con 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 417 

taincd a population of thirty-five thousand souls, 
whereas, the present population of the same districts 
is only seven thousand. 

The agricultural products of Lower California are 
maize, sugar-cane, potatoes, dates, figs, grapes, quin- 
ces, lemons, and olives. A considerable quantity of 
hides, beef, cheese, soap, sugar, figs, raisins, &c, is 
annually exported to Mexico and Upper California, 
flour and merchandise being received in exchange. 
The vegetable market of Mazatlan is also iD part 
supplied from the valley of San Jose*. 

But the value of Lower California does not result 
from its being either a grazing or agricultural country. 
Its fisheries, mines, commerce, and the influence of 
its geographical position, are matters of much higher 
importance than its agricultural productions. 

The whole coast of the peninsula abounds with fish ; 
clams and oysters are found in great plenty and of 
every variety. The islands of the gulf abound with 
seal, and the whaling grounds on the Pacific coast are 
of great value. During the past year Magdalena 
bay alone has, at one time, contained as many as 
twenty-eight sail, all engaged in this fishery. The 
pearl fishery is also exceedingly valuable. Formerly, 
when it was conducted with system and regularity, 
the annual produce of a single vessel with thirty or 
forty divers, between the months of July and October, 
usually amounted to about $60,000 ; and now, badly 
as the fishery is conducted, the annual exportation of 
pearls amounts to between forty and fifty thousand 
dollars. Tortoise and pearl shells are also artic lea of 
exportation. 

Lower California contains valuable mines of gold, 
silver, copper, and lead ; but, for the want of capital, 



418 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

very few of these are worked, and this in the rudest 
manner possible. Nevertheless, the labor expended 
on them is well rewarded ; and there can be no doubt 
that with capital and suitable means they would yield 
very handsome profits. The salt mines on Carmen 
island are capable of supplying the whole coast of 
Mexico and California; already the duties on this 
article amount to a considerable sum. 

The commerce of the peninsula is now very limited, 
being principally confined to a coasting trade with 
the ports of Mexico. The whole population of the 
country is but little more than ten thousand, and the 
annual imports and exports are estimated at $300,000. 
But in our hands this commerce, freed from the ab- 
surd restrictions imposed by Mexico, will soon recei ve 
a very great extension. La Paz will become the prin- 
cipal depot of American goods for the western coast 
of Mexico ; and in a few years most foreign goods in- 
tended for this coast will also be deposited in the 
warehouses of Lower California, to be transferred to 
the ports of Mexico at such times and in such quanti- 
ties as the demands of the market may require. In 
the present variable state of Mexican trade, resulting 
from an irregular and fluctuating tariff, which differs 
for each port and changes with every change of 
general or state administration, it is frequently neces- 
sary to transfer vessels with their cargoes from one 
port to another, or to keep them for weeks at sea, 
standing off and on, so as to enable the agents to 
arrange the rate of duties at the custom-house before 
landing the cargoes. Sometimes the consignees are 
obliged to send their vessels to the Sandwich islands 
or Valparaiso until a change of administration will 
enable them to avoid the exorbitant demands of som? 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 419 

petty governor or collector of customs. Moreover, 
the principal commercial ports of this coast (Mazatlan 
and San Bias) are inaccessible to merchant vessels for 
four months of each year, and during that time are 
visited only by small coasters. But, with Lower 
California in our possession, merchant vessels jf 
whatever character, at all seasons and in all winds, 
can find a refuge in La Paz, and their cargoes 
despatched in such quantities and to such points of 
the opposite coast as circumstances may justify. This 
place in a few years will be what Mazatlan now is, 
and Mazatlan experience the fate of San Bias and 
Acapulco. 

The importance, however, of this port results mainly 
from its geographical position, and the influence it 
is likely to exert as a military and naval depot upon 
our commercial interests in the Pacific. The port of 
San Francisco, in Upper California, should be well 
fortified, and every care taken to make it a harbor 
of refuge for our merchant and military marine, in 
case of a maritime war ; but it must be remembered 
that that place is nearly fifteen hundred miles from 
the nearest port of Mexico, and that it is very far 
north of some of the best whaling grounds in the Paci- 
fic, and too distant to afford much protection to our 
commerce with Central America, although its position 
gives it a controlling influence over the commerce of 
Sandwich Islands, Upper California, and Oregon. 
In the same way a well-fortified naval station at La 
Paz, from its immediate proximity to the coast of 
Mexico, would have a most beneficial influence on our 
commercial and whaling interest in this part of the 
Pacific. The great value, in time of maritime war, 
of such key points as La Paz, and the commanding 



420 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

influence exercised by them in the protection of com- 
merce, have become settled principles in military 
defence ; and England shows her appreciation of their 
truth, and the wisdom of her own policy, in establish- 
ing stations and points like St. Helena, Cape of Good 
Hope, Gibraltar, Malta, Corfu, and Bermuda. 

Again, the growing commerce of California and 
Oregon, and the political importance of our posses- 
sions on the Pacific, render it necessary that we should 
have some means of rapid communication between 
them and the seat of government at Washington. 
This communication must be effected by the isthmus 
of Panama or of Tehuantepec. In either case steam- 
ers bound to Upper California and the Columbia River 
must have one or more intermediate depots of fuel; 
and in time of war it is important that these depots 
be established in our own rather than in a hostile ter- 
ritory. A glance at the map will show that La Paz 
is nearly equidistant from the extremities of this line ; 
and that Tehuantepec, La Paz, and San Francisco 
divide into four equal parts the whole distance from 
Panama to Oregon. Moreover, as this ocean is pecu- 
liarly suited to steam navigation, a large part of the 
commerce of the Pacific must eventually be carried on 
in steam vessels ; and in all probability not many 
years will elapse before a portion of our naval force in 
these waters is of the same character. Under this 
supposition, the importance of our possessing some 
naval depot and harbor of refuge and repair south of 
Upper California is too manifest to require argument 
or illustration. 

But whatever may be thought of the value of thia 
peninsula or of the gulf as a natural boundary between 
us and Mexico, instead of an imaginary line drawn 



HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 421 

from the Colorado to the Pacific, thus separating a 
kindred people, and exposing the governments of the 
two territories to continual collisions, the propriety of 
retaining Lower California is, in my opinion, now no 
longer an open question. When this country was first 
taken possession of by the forces of the United States, 
the people were promised the protection of our govern- 
ment against Mexico, and guarantied the rights secured 
by our Constitution; and in November, 1847, they 
were assured by the commander-in-chief of the Paci- 
fic squadron, (with the approbation of the Secretary 
of the Navy,) that this territory would be permanent- 
ly retained by the American government; and again, 
by the President of the United States, in hie annual 
message of December, 1847, that it "should never 
be given up to Mexico." Acting under these assur- 
ances, all the most respectable people of the territory 
not only refused to take part with the Mexican forces 
which were sent to attempt the recapture of that country 
from the Americans, but many of them actually took 
up arms in our defence, and rendered most valuable 
services in ridding the peninsula of the guerrilla hordes 
sent over from Mexico for the purpose of effecting 
our expulsion. In this conflict, some who thus sided 
with us lost their lives, many their property, and all 
have exposed themselves to the vengeance of the 
Mexican government. But these losses and dangers 
they have willingly encountered, in the hope of ob- 
taining the better government of the United States. 
They have regarded these promises as made in good 
faith, and have been guided in their conduct by the 
assurances thus held out to them by the agents of the 
American government ; and now, for the United 
States to voluntarily surrender this country to the 



$22 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 

republic of Mexico, and leave these Californians ex- 
posed to the loss of life and confiscation of property, 
for having sided with us, under the assurances thus 
held out to them, would not only be in itself a breach 
of national faith, but would make us appear in the 
eyes of the world guilty of the most deliberate am] 
cruel deception. 

H. WAGER HALLECK. 
Lieutenant of Engineer** 
Colonel E. B. Mason, 

Commanding Tenth Military Deparim$#& 






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FEB. 66 

N. MANCHESTER. 
INDIANA 



